In The Absence of Light
by rac0nteur
Summary: (Sequel of 'To Have and To Lose') What do you do when you wake up and you don't know if you're actually awake? How can you tell that the people in front of you aren't just a figment of your imagination? At this point, Zarina isn't sure of anything anymore. Except for the fact that there's a voice in her head telling her to 'let them in' and she's getting really close to doing so.
1. One

**AN: ****_Just wanna give a special thank you to rachellaurenm for the title suggestions! They were all really great (: _**

**_Also, if you haven't read 'To Have and To Lose', I recommend you do so before reading this, otherwise this will make less than no sense. Okay, now let's begin!_**

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I was in a long hallway. Pipes were attached to the walls on my right and a bright light was shining at the end of the hall. I took tentative steps forward and as I did so, whispers turned to loud shouting around me.

_Let me in._

_**Let me in.**_

**_LET ME IN._**

I threw my hands over my ears and continued walking, eyes narrowed in pain as the shouting reverberated my eardrums. My steps were shaky and my hands quivered over my ears in fear.

As I stepped into the bright light, my hands fell to my sides as the shouting disappeared. I blinked a couple of times to adjust my eyes and I saw that I was in a bright white room with nothing else inside except…

"Stiles? Is that you?"

He was facing away from me, back flexed. He turned to me when he heard my voice and a dark smirk crossed his face. My steps faltered and I bit my lip.

"Zarina," he said. "You should really start to listen to yourself. That voice in your head. It's going to help you. Just let it in."

"N-No," I stuttered out. This wasn't Stiles. I knew it wasn't.

"Shame," he pulled out a katana from seemingly nowhere and held the tip of the blade over his chest, pouting mockingly. "Now, again. Let me in, Oracle."

"Stop! No, please! Don't!" I cried out as he pressed the sword harder against his chest.

"Don't you see? You're going to cause so much death and suffering," Stiles told me. "And all because you're too stubborn to let me in."

"What are you?" my voice trembled.

"Darkness." And the sword plunged into Stiles' heart, the tip coming out of his back as he fell onto his knees.

"NO!" I yelled, eyes shooting open and charcoal clutched in my hands.

Alex burst into my room and hugged me from my back, pulling me onto the floor with him as I flailed around in his arms, screaming uncontrollably. I threw the charcoal at my wall and struggled in his arms, unable to stop myself from crying as I did so.

"Zarina!" he grit his teeth. "It's just me! You were dreaming!"

I stopped screaming and instead started breathing heavily, sobs escaping my mouth. I slumped against his body and let the tears fall heavily, body heaving. Alex's arms were wound tightly around me and I looked up at my canvas hesitantly.

Stiles was drawn messily on the paper, a sword through his chest and blood forming a pool around him. I looked down at my stained hands in terror.

"Oh my god," I croaked.

"Shhh," Alex cooed into my ear soothingly.

He didn't need to ask for a explanation. The past two weeks had been a repeat of this exact routine, except the person who died in my dreams was different every night. But the message remained the same.

**'Let me in.'**

"I-I need to call Stiles," I decided after a moment of recomposing myself.

My brother nodded and left the room, placing a kiss on my forehead and promising to come back when I finished. I shakily got up and unplugged my phone from the charger, dialing his phone number with trembling thumbs. After about three rings, he picked up.

"Zarina? Babe?" his voice was scratchy. But not from sleep. It was like he'd been screaming. "Are you crying?"

I took deep breaths before responding. "N-No, I'm okay, I just- I just needed to hear your voice. I'm sorry for waking you up."

"Don't be," Stiles assured me and I felt myself calm down some. He was okay. He was safe. "What happened?"

"It was nothing, I promise," I sat down on my bed.

"Are you sure? Do you need me to come over?"

"No!" I replied quickly. "I mean, no. You don't have to. I'm just being stupid. I'll see you at school later, okay?"

"Wait, no Zar-" he began, but I cut him off.

"Goodnight, Stiles."

I hung up the phone and put it on my bedside table, sighing heavily. I laid down on my messy bed, staring up at the ceiling. Even so, I knew that I wasn't going to get any more sleep that night.

* * *

As soon as I got into my boyfriend's car a few hours later, I was bombarded with his questions.

"What was that earlier? Are you okay? You look tired," Stiles spoke quickly, barely taking a breath.

"Good morning to you, too," I grinned slightly and examined the bags under his eyes. "You don't look so energetic yourself."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged and started to drive. One hand was on the wheel while the other held mine tightly between us. "Did you get any sleep after you hung up on me?"

I glanced at him and shook my head. "Couldn't. Not after my dream."

"Who was it this time?" he finally understood what'd happened and why I called him so suddenly.

I had told Stiles about how I'd seen all of my friends die in nightmares every night since the Darach incident and he was worried about me, too much sometimes.

"You," I said reluctantly, biting my trembling lip as I remembered my drawing. After laying in my bed for a few hours, I took the drawing and burnt it in our fireplace, along with the other ones I'd drawn.

"Are these just dreams, or are they…y'know, prophecies?" he looked over at me, anxious.

"I don't even know anymore. It feels like a dream, but I always wake up with a drawing on my canvas," my voice cracked. "I'm scared, Stiles. I don't want you to die."

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured me as he parked in the school's lot. "We'll figure this out. Your dreams and mine."

Suddenly, I felt guilty. I was so caught up in my own terrors that I'd forgotten that Stiles was experiencing something similar to it, too. He told me about his sleep paralysis and his nightmares and how he was starting to lose his mind.

"No," he scolded, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Don't feel guilty. You have that look on your face like you're blaming yourself," he pointed his free finger at me and we both got out of the car, reconnecting hands as soon as we started walking.

"I can't just not feel guilty," I confessed. "I'm being totally inconsiderate to your problems."

"Oh, be quiet," he hushed. "I'll be okay if you are."

I blew out a breath of air and nodded slightly as we continued to walk towards the front door. Then, we saw Scott hurrying down the stairs, looking behind his shoulder frantically at no one in particular. He nearly tackled us, but we stopped him.

"Hey, hey are you alright?" Stiles questioned. Scott nodded and looked down at his shadow. "You don't look alright, Scott."

"I'm okay," he replied unsurely.

"No, you're not," Stiles realized, observing Scott's panicked expression. "It's happening to you, too. You're seeing things."

"How'd you know?"

"Stiles and I aren't having the best time, either. Nightmares, mostly," I explained to him.

"Actually, it's happening to all four of you," Lydia's voice rang as she walked up to us with Allison in tow. The huntress looked as if she'd seen a ghost, which wouldn't have surprised me if she actually did.

"So what's happening to you three?" Lydia asked us.

"Sleep paralysis," Stiles answered.

"Predicting all my friend's deaths," I added on slowly.

"Hallucinations," Scott finished, gulping. Lydia smirked at us and walked towards the double doors to the school.

"Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one," she chirped as we followed her inside.

"We're not crazy," Allison shot at her.

"Hallucinating? Freak prophecies? Sleep paralysis?" She turned to us and gave us a sarcastic look. "Yeah, you guys are fine."

"We did die and come back to life. That's gotta have some side effects, right?" Scott offered.

"But you're forgetting something. I didn't die," I reminded him as the bell rang.

"We'll keep an eye on each other," Stiles said and kissed my forehead before starting to walk away. "And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much."

"What?" Lydia asked innocently. I shook my head in amusement and followed my two girl friends to our classroom.

* * *

For once in my life, I dreaded having to sit in front of a canvas, but I swallowed my fear and did so, pouring paint onto the palette as the teacher walked out of the class.

I began to paint, barely even paying attention to my movements. I simply moved the brush on the canvas, occasionally dipping my paintbrush in my paint as I went on. About halfway through class, Isaac walked up behind me and froze.

"Zarina, what is that?" he inquired, sounding scared.

I blinked slowly and studied my work. It was me, hanging with a noose around my neck in the middle of the paper. The words 'it's all your fault' were scrawled on the bottom in red paint.

I stood abruptly and backed away from the painting, the stool falling onto the ground. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt my stomach churn.

Around me, the class stopped, looking up from their paintings, but I couldn't move. I saw Allison and Lydia with worried looks on their faces as they noticed my tense stature from across the room.

After a few seconds of staying shock still, I ripped the paper off the canvas and stuffed it in the garbage can hurriedly, picking up the chair as I returned to my station.

I sat again and started to paint, not letting my mind wander as I focused on not drawing another dead person. I ignored the stares of everyone in the class, pretending as if what occurred never happened.

"Zarina, what just happened?" Isaac hissed, sitting in his seat beside me.

"Nothing," I replied as calmly as possible. "Just a screw up."

"You painted yourself. Hanged," he deadpanned and I kept my eyes straight on my canvas, taking a slow breath.

"Isaac, just forget it, okay?" I said with an air of finality.

He seemed to get the hint that I didn't want to talk about it because he simply rolled his eyes and returned to his own painting.

Still, even with my false certainty, I was terrified. How could I have not noticed that I was drawing my dead self? Something was definitely wrong with me.

* * *

I found Stiles and Scott at his locker and rushed over to them. I had to tell them that something was going on with me. It was getting freaky.

"Stiles?" I nudged his shoulder as he stared down at his lock confusedly. "Are you having trouble with your lock?"

"Huh?" he looked up from his lock at me and shook his head. "No, no. I- uh just forgot my combination for a second."

I raised and eyebrow, skeptical, but he gave me a pleading look, making my resolve crumble. I shifted my gaze to Scott, whose eyes were turning red.

"Scott, your eyes. They're changing," I warned him and he immediately looked at the floor.

"Scott, stop it! Stop it!" Stiles cried out, glancing around the hall to make sure no one else was looking.

"I can't," Scott replied, frustrated. "I can't. I-I can't control it."

Stiles did another sweep of the hallway with his eyes. "Alright, just keep your head down. Don't look up, come on."

He stuffed Scott's head in his jacket as I led the two of them into an empty classroom. The two boys stumbled inside and I hurriedly locked the door as Scott moved farther away from us in the room. A growl left his mouth and he pulled his jacket off.

"You have to calm down," I said softly, moving next to Stiles. "Scott, you can do it."

"I can't!" he shouted, eyes squeezing shut. "Get back, get away from me!"

"Scott, it's okay," Stiles tried to comfort him.

But Scott was still changing. His claws grew on his fingers and he clenched them down on his palms, puncturing the skin.

Blood dripped profusely from the wounds and Scott slowly started to go back to normal. He let himself sink to the ground, fully human again. Stiles and I crouched in front of him as he regained his breathing.

"Pain makes you human," Scott whispered.

"Scott, this isn't just in our heads," Stiles deducted. "This is real. And it's starting to get bad for me, too."

"Same here," I admitted. "I painted myself dead in art today. I wasn't even having a vision. I was just painting and it just happened. I don't even remember painting it in the first place." Stiles sent me a worried glance and grasped my hand, squeezing it.

"And I'm not just having nightmares. I'm having dreams where I literally have to scream myself awake. And sometimes I'm not even sure I'm actually every waking up," Stiles explained to him.

"What do you mean?" Scott's eyebrows furrowed.

"Do you know how you can tell if you're dreaming? You can't read in dreams," Stiles informed him. "More and more the past few days, I've been having trouble reading. It's like I can see the words, but I can't put the letters in order."

"Like even now?" Scott asked quietly. Stiles glanced up at the board and released my hand, standing. I saw him swallow, blinking quickly as he tried to read it.

"I can't read a thing," he told us weakly. I stood up next to him and crossed my arms over my chest worriedly.

"We'll figure this out, guys," I muttered out. "We have to. Okay? The three of us are going to be fine."

The two of them stayed quiet, both hesitant, but Scott nodded. "She's right. Let's go. It's just one more period."

He walked out of the room, shrugging his jacket back on and I turned to Stiles. He was still looking at the board, rubbing his eyes. I felt my expression soften in sympathy.

"This is real, you know that," I comforted.

"But what if it's not? What if I just wake up and this was all just a dream?" he sounded so broken and tired.

I got on my toes and placed my lips on his, pouring every ounce of love I had for him into it. He didn't hesitate to kiss back and after a few lingering moments, I pulled away, holding him close.

"Did that feel real?" I whispered and he nodded, breathless. "Good. Because it was."

* * *

Lydia, Allison, and I were standing in the woods together to help Allison try and regain her hand eye coordination. A side effect of her hallucinations was that she could barely move her hands without shaking.

Lydia walked up the to tree in front of us and put a paper with a target on it against the tree.

"Do you have any-" the whizzing sound of my knife flying through the air and going through the paper and into the tree interrupted her. "-pins?" The redhead turned to me with an incredulous look and I laughed.

"Such a show-off," she mumbled and I simply shrugged innocently.

"Do you really think this is going to help?" Allison piped in as Lydia moved towards us purposefully.

"I know that if you think its not going to help, it definitely won't," Lydia state knowingly. Allison sighed and took the arrow from my hand.

"Just try it," I persisted. "Nothing's going to happen out here."

"Exactly!" Lydia agreed, determined. "You're here with us and have nothing but the vast space of this forest, so get your head into it. Shoot a few and see what happens."

Allison gave us a small grin and notched her arrow. Her hands shook the entire time and once she released the arrow, it flew to the ground, extremely far away from the target.

This made me nervous. Allison's aim was better than mine by far, yet she couldn't even hit the tree like I'd managed to do earlier. The huntress grabbed another arrow and notched it, only to get the same result.

"Maybe hold the string a different way," Lydia suggested. "Try the Mongolian draw." Allison's head snapped to her in surprise and I grinned. Typical Lydia. "What? I read."

Allison grabbed another arrow and notched it, tilting her bow to the side. She put extra concentration and focus into this before releasing her grip. The arrow fell short.

"Okay, we need to find something else to help Allison out," I announced. "She can't do this when she's shaky like that."

"Okay, um…" Lydia squeezed Allison's shoulders encouragingly. "Take a second to close your eyes and imagine the arrow going into the target."

I watched as Allison shut her eyes and relaxed, concentrating on the target in her mind. As her eyes reopened, they suddenly darted to the side, as if she saw someone.

"Did you guys see that?"

I raised an eyebrow, "See what?"

Allison hefted her arrows over her shoulder and started to walk off. "You guys wait here."

"Are you serious?" Lydia sassed, astonished.

"I'll be right back," she assured before disappearing into the forest.

"You did not just say that!" she called out after the huntress. "She did not just say that."

"Come on," I tugged Lydia with me towards the trees. "Let's follow her."

"Are you _serious?_"

"Do you wanna figure out what she saw, or not?" I questioned her. She hugged and followed me begrudgingly. We called out Allison's name multiple times, but even with the light of the sun burning down on top of us, she was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the image of an arrow embedding itself in Lydia's skull echoed in my head and I took action.

"Lydia, get down!" I pushed her to the side and stood where she was supposed to be, fully ready to take the arrow.

I shut my eyes in fear as I heard the sound of it flying towards me, but the impact never came. Reluctantly, my eyes fluttered open and the tip of the arrow was inches from my nose, Isaac's hand gripping the middle of the metal shaft tightly.

Allison's eyes widened from the distance. She dropped her bow on the soil. "Oh my god, oh my god, Zarina!"

I helped Lydia up from the ground and helped her brush dirt off her clothes. Allison hurried towards me and started to apologize.

"I didn't mean for- I didn't know, Zarina. I thought it was my aunt, I saw her, I swear."

"No, it's okay," I soothed her. "We're okay, see? You didn't mean to. It's fine." But somewhere inside me, I knew that it wasn't fine at all.

* * *

I flinched as Finstock blew his whistle long and hard, breaking Stiles out of the trance he'd been in since he sat down.

"Stilinski!" Coach yelled.

"Huh?" Stiles responded, breathing heavy.

"I asked you a question."

"Uh, sorry coach. What was it?" he asked after a tiny pause.

"Oh, it was: Stilinski, are you paying attention back there?" Coach remarked sarcastically.

Stiles shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Well, I am now."

"Stilinski, stop reminding me why I drink. Every night," Finstock muttered as he faced the board. "Does anybody else want to try the question on the board?"

Scott and I both looked at Stiles in concern. He caught us and moved slightly to face us.

"I'm okay, I just fell asleep for a second," he assured us.

"Uh, Stiles," I mumbled. "You weren't asleep." I glanced down at his notebook and he looked down at it, quickly shutting it and flipping it over when he read whatever it was he wrote.

The three of us joined Allison, Lydia, and Isaac at a picnic table during break. I sat between the two and propped my arms on the table as the boys explained what'd happened in class.

"Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things?" Scott wondered aloud.

"And is unable to tell what's real or not," Stiles added.

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of their dead relatives," Allison finished.

"They're all locked up because they're insane," Isaac answered.

"Ha-ha," Stiles retorted sarcastically. "Can you at least try to be helpful, please?"

"For half of my childhood, I was locked in a freezer, so being helpful is kind of a new thing for me," he shot back.

"Are you still milking that?" Stiles rolled his eyes and I shot him a warning look.

"Yeah, maybe I am still milking that."

"Alright!" I burst out, irritated. "We get it. Now please, for the love of god, stop it." They immediately shut up and looked away sheepishly and I felt a wave of smugness wash over me.

"Hi, hi. I couldn't help but overhear what you guys were talking about," a young Asian girl walked up to our table and I noticed Scott's eyes light up. "And I think I might actually know what you're talking about."

We simply stared at her to continued, so she did. "There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called Bardo. It literally means 'in-between state'. The state between life and death."

"And what do they call you?" Lydia asked in her signature queen bee voice.

"Kira," Scott answered for her and we all turned to him, Allison's face surprised and mine teasing. "She's in our history class."

"So are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" Lydia questioned.

"Either, I guess," she sat down beside Stiles on the bench. "But all the stuff you guys were just saying? All that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see and some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities."

"Wrathful deities? And what are those?" Isaac inquired, his interest piqued.

"Like demons," she replied, smiling, unaware of the darker problems of our group.

"Demons, why not?" Stiles piped up, sharing a look with me.

"Hold on, if there are different progressive states, what's the last one?" Allison continued curiously.

"Death," Kira replied. "You die."

I looked up from the table and at my friends. They each had their own terrified look on their face.

"Well," I started slowly. "This is bad."

* * *

"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you," Deaton said to us after Stiles explained to him his 'dream' that involved a lot of sign language.

"Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?" Stiles questioned, scratching his head.

"Do you remember what the sign language looked like?" Deaton stepped in front of us as we entered the back room. "The placement and movement of the hands?"

"You know sign language?" Scott pitched in.

"I know a little," Deaton confirmed. "Let me give it a shot."

"Okay, the first one was like this," Stiles did the motion with his hands.

"That's _when_."

"Then there was this. Twice."

"That's _door_."

"And then this in between." Stiles did the final motion.

"That's it?" Deaton asked and he nodded.

"Yeah," Stiles sighed. The vet looked between the three of us.

"When is a door not a door?"

"When is a door not a door?" Stiles repeated, puzzled.

"When it's ajar," Scott and I mumbled simultaneously.

"You're kidding me," Stiles' arms flailed out. "A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?"

"Not necessarily," Deaton cut him off. "When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from the unconsciousness to a kind of super consciousness, you essentially opened a door into your minds," Deaton explained.

"So what does that mean?" Stiles asked.

"The door's still open?" Scott added.

"Ajar," Deaton corrected.

"Wait, but if only their minds were opened, why am I being affected, too?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "I didn't die."

"That's because the door to your mind is always open, Zarina," he responded. "In order for you to be able to predict the future, your mind must be constantly open."

"So now that those three are attracting whatever it is they're attracting, those things are noticing my open 'door', too?" I made quotation marks with my fingers.

"Exactly," he nodded.

"A door…into our _minds_?" Stiles reiterated slowly.

"I did tell you it was risky," Deaton reminded nonchalantly.

"What do we do about it?" Scott persisted.

"Well, that's difficult to answer," he replied reluctantly.

"Oh, no. Wait a second, I know that look," Stiles pointed his finger at the vet. "That the _I know exactly what's wrong with you, but I have no idea how to fix it_ look."

"One thing I do know is that having an opening like that into your mind, it's not good. You each need to close that door and you need to do it as soon as possible," he informed us.

"How?" I spoke worriedly.

"Well, the three of them need to find an anchor. Something that will keep them tied in real life. Something to keep them focused."

"Wh-whoa, wait, you just said the three of them," I gestured to the boys beside me. "How do I close mine?"

Deaton looked hesitant to answer, like the news he was about to give me wasn't good.

"You can't."

* * *

**AN: ****_FEELS GOOOD. I know I said I'd wait a few days but I got excited so here I am LOL. Hope you guys liked it. I'm really so excited to write 3B! I have so many ideas and they're like just sitting in my mind right now._**

**_Please review/fave/follow if you enjoyed. It means a lot and it shows me that I didn't totally ruin everything. (:_**

**_xx._**


	2. Two

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

The next day, the three of us were sneaking into the back door of the Tate house, the family that'd lost their young daughter, Malia, in a car accident years before.

After our unsettling visit with Deaton, Sheriff Stilinski came and asked for our help to find the girl, hoping that Scott would be able to get a scent.

The door squeaked as Stiles pushed it open, breaking me out of my thoughts. Scott and I flinched as he pushed it further. More squeaking. I pursed my lips in worry as he gave up and slid through the crack in the doorway.

We followed him inside and I looked around the room at the little girl toys that were scattered around it. I handed Scott a shirt I found on the floor and he sniffed it, shaking his head, and dropped it back onto the ground.

"All I'm getting is some kind of animal smell," Scott muttered.

"What kind of animal?" Stiles questioned. A low growl sounded and we looked up at a Rottweiler, not two feet away from us.

"A dog," I squeaked. The two boys whimpered and Stiles shoved a toy horse he was holding into his jacket.

"Hi, puppy," Stiles cooed gently, then looked over at Scott. "Get rid of it."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Glow your eyes at it. Something. Be the Alpha." But none of us dared to move.

"I can't. I don't have control."

"You have to try something," I hissed under my breath. He took a step closer to the dog.

"Nice doggy," he said lamely and I groaned inwardly as the dog started to bark.

I swiveled my head to my boyfriend, who looked just as freaked out as I felt. Scott backed up into us and the two boys held on tight to each other, squishing me in the middle of their bodies.

"Apollo! Apollo, shut up! Shut the hell up!" a man's voice shouted from the other room and the dog complied.

It seemed to glare at us for a second before traipsing away. The three of us let go of each other, slumping in relief. Stiles went over to a dresser and gave Scott a book.

"Here, try that," he offered. I looked at the items adorning her desk as they did their thing.

"Anything?" Stiles asked hopefully.

"All I'm getting is that dog," Scott sighed.

I motioned for Stiles to come over to me and he did as I pointed out a picture of two little girls. He bent down close to observe it before grabbing his phone and taking a picture of it. The back door squeaked behind us as Scott opened it and we filed out of the room as quietly as possible.

The three of us found the sheriff leaning against his car on the side road.

"I'm sorry," Scott began. "I tried as hard as I could. If it wasn't so long ago, I might have been able to do it."

"It's okay. It was a long shot," he breathed out. "In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you guys here. I don't know what I was thinking." He looked up at us and I gave him a small smile. "Thanks for trying, alright?"

"Yeah," Scott said and the sheriff patted his shoulder before getting into his cruiser.

"See you at home," he told Stiles and drove away, his son watching him disappear.

"Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I just think this is the one he felt like he could've figured out right now," Stiles admitted, stuffing one hand in his pocket and the other in mine.

"Why is it so important now?"

"He wants to be able to solve one more while he's still Sheriff," Stiles clarified.

"Wait? _Still_ Sheriff?" I interrupted him.

"Uh, yeah. Scott's dad- he's trying to impeach my dad," he explained.

"Are you serious?" Scott burst angrily.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded sadly.

"He- he can't do that!"

"But he can."

"No. No, he isn't getting away with this. He's not firing your dad," Scott pointed at him. "I'm not letting him do this."

I glanced over at Stiles and back to our friend as he walked off, fuming, and then began to run. We made no move to stop him.

"Wanna hang out at mine for a while?" Stiles asked, looking down at me.

"Sure," I replied with a grin and hopped into the passenger's side.

"Are the nightmares getting worse?" Stiles questioned as he drove down the road.

I looked down at my shaky hands. They never seemed to stop shaking anymore. "Well, they're certainly not getting any better. Yours?"

"No, not really," he shook his head. "I hate this."

I hummed in agreement and the car fell quiet. I stared out the window and leaned my head against the cool glass.

_You're all going to die._

I flinched and took a sharp intake of breath, head lifting from the window.

"What the hell?" I muttered, shaking my head slightly. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Stiles raised an eyebrow, concerned. But I didn't answer. "Zarina, what'd you hear?"

I furrowed my brow and bit my lip. "No, never mind. I just thought I heard the engine make some weird noise."

"You sure?" he questioned skeptically, parking in his driveway.

I gave him an assuring smile. "Positive."

He shrugged and the two of us got out of his car and into his house. He led me into his room and we fell onto the bed next to each other, my head nestled on his chest. My hands played with his fingers as we laid there in comfortable silence.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if Scott never got bitten?" I glanced up at him from behind my eyelashes.

"Yeah," he answered. "There's a lot of good stuff in that reality. No nightmares. No mythical creatures trying to kill me."

"Aw, but that's the best part of this all," I laughed. "I completely love getting my life threatened all the time."

"Smart-ass," he grumbled, kissing the top of my head. "But there's a lot of bad stuff, too."

"That so?"

"Mhm. Like, in that reality, you never saw me as more than a friend," he admitted.

"Stiles," I pursed my lips. "In any and every reality, I would love you as much as I do in this one."

"You love me?" he sounded surprised.

"Duh, you nerd," I propped myself up on my elbow so I could look down at him. "Just because I don't say it, doesn't mean it's not true."

"Girls are always so complicated," he rolled his eyes teasingly.

"But you love us," I grinned.

"More specifically, you," he winked and I giggled as he leaned upwards to connect our lips. Stiles flipped me over onto my back and his body hovered over mine, our contact never breaking. A groan sounded in the back of his throat as I licked his bottom lip and I smirked against his lips.

Then, the door burst open and my heart jumped out of my chest as Stiles flailed off the bed in surprise. I sat up, wiping my lips, and glared at Scott. His expression was horrified as he stepped in.

"God, I'll never get that image out of my head," Scott wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked, getting up off the floor.

"We're gonna go out and find a body." He flicked on his flashlight and smiled evilly.

* * *

About half an hour later, the three of us were trekking through the forest, flashlights illuminating the dark trees around us.

"You know, if our dad's right, that means there's another werewolf in town that we haven't met yet," Stiles said.

"I know."

"If it turns out to be something like triplets that for into, like, a three-headed hound of hell, I'm seriously not up for that," Stiles continued, hands motioning wildly. I stifled a laugh.

"Yeah, me either," Scott sighed. "Especially if I can't even control my own transformation anymore."

A coyote howl resonated through the trees and Stiles jumped, clutching onto our friend. Scott's phone fell at the impact and went straight into a puddle.

"Sorry, buddy," Stiles apologized, grimacing, and Scott rolled his head back in annoyance. "I hate coyotes so much. They always sound like they're mauling some tiny, helpless animal."

Scott took his phone out of the water and wiped it off. "It still works." He sounded impressed. Stiles was staring over at something on the hill.

"Let me see the flashlight," he grabbed for it and went down the hill, the two of us following closely.

"Is that it?" I inquired, looking at the overturned car that was placed in the middle of ravine.

"Uh, why wouldn't they move it? Isn't it evidence?" Scott questioned.

"Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out," Stiles mused, flashlight flickering around the wreck.

"Look at this," he pointed the beam at claw marks. "See those?"

"Animal claws would be closer together, wouldn't they?" I reasoned softly.

"A lot closer," Scott confirmed.

"Then it was a werewolf," I finished, sighing.

"So my dad was right," Stiles continued looking around the car and peering inside.

"Oh god, Stiles. Don't go inside, please," I begged.

"Do you see that?" he shined the flashlight into the car. "What is that?" He stuck an arm inside and pulled out a baby doll. It was the one from the picture we'd found in Malia's room. We all looked closer at it, examining the plastic figure.

"**I'm hungry.**"

I don't think I'd ever screamed so loud before. I jumped into Stiles' arms as he dropped the doll, the two of us falling onto our butts in fear. Scott was in a similar position, panting heavily as he crawled backwards away from the doll.

"I think I just had a minor heart attack," Stiles informed us, helping me get up from the ground.

I brushed off the leaves on my jacket, getting the dirt off. Scott stared past the car and a growl was heard from the distance.

"Hey, guys. Please tell me you see that," Scott said slowly. I followed his eyes and my heart fell into my stomach. Two glowing blue eyes could be seen through the darkness.

"We see it," Stiles and I whispered. And then, Scott ran towards it, not bothering to say anything.

"Wait, hey, Scott!" Stiles shouted after him, but he didn't stop.

* * *

"Where did he go?" I looked around frantically, shivering as a cold breeze blew past me.

"I don't know, but I'm not staying in one place with some rabid coyote on the loose," Stiles grumbled, but pulled my wrist back towards him as he saw something.

"Look at that." He pointed the beam and we walked up the trail towards the opening.

"It's a…den?" I guessed, stepping inside the hole with him, hand firmly against the wall. Malia's jacket and scarf from the photo were inside.

"We have to find Scott. Like now," Stiles concluded, pulling me out of the cave. Once we were out, we sprinted down the hill and into the trees, twigs scratching my face as we did so. The two of us ran around the corner wildly and ran into someone.

"Ah!" I yelped out and Stiles screamed in fear.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey!" It was just Scott. I blew hair out of my face and stood as Stiles dropped the light from our friend's face.

"Oh, hey," Stiles greeted. "I think we found something."

"So did I," Scott agreed.

"Tell us on the way," I told him as we lead him towards the den.

Scott told us about how the coyote was Malia and how her eyes glowed blue when his did. He deducted that she was some type of werecoyote. Any other day, it would've been insane. But it was probably the most normal thing to happen to us at that time.

We arrived at the den and let the two enter the den alone, not wanting to cramp up the space too much.

"It's a coyote den," Stiles explained.

"I guess it's 'werecoyote' now," I corrected softly.

"You see this?" he lifted the jacket. "This is Malia's. Remember? It's the same one she was wearing in the photo."

"We shouldn't be in here," Scott mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Stiles put the jacket down.

"She's not going to come back now. We just invaded her home. Our scent's going to be everywhere."

"Where else does she have to go other than here?" I countered and he shrugged at me.

"Can you track her now? You think you got her scent?" Stiles asked, shifting in place.

"Maybe, but I'm better at this when I'm full wolf. And I'm still worried that if I do it, I won't be able to turn back," he confessed.

"The door's still open," Stiles agreed, sighing.

"If I can't get to Derek, we're going to have to find someone else to help. This is basically a crime scene, right? I think it might be a little out of my boss' league," Scott continued.

"And more in my dad's," Stiles realized, dialing his father's phone number.

As he called him, I stepped away from the cave and examined the trees. They were rustling in the wind and from the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow blur past me. I whipped around, looking for the shadow. Another one shot by from my other side and I turned to face it, but nothing was there.

"Don't you get it?" a voice whispered into my ear. I screeched and fell onto the ground, looking upwards at the shadow looming above me. "You won't win. None of you can win."

"Leave me alone!" I yelled, moving to get away from it, but it took a step closer for each time I moved back. "What do you want from me?"

"Do you realize how much easier it'd be for you if you let me in?" it growled, edging closer and closer to me. "You could save so many lives. But no, you refuse to accept that there is not way out for you. Not now. Not ever."

It finally stepped into the moonlight and I could finally see what it was that was tormenting me. It was a tall figure dressed in a black World War 2 jacket and khaki pants, but its head was covered completely in a white gauze.

The only thing visible on its face were its rows of sharp teeth. It crouched down above me and placed a hand on my shoulder, grip tight.

"We're going to ruin you," it growled and I didn't miss how it switched from 'me' to 'we'. "We're going to rip everyone you've ever loved apart limb from limb until you finally see that you cannot escape this."

"Please stop," I whimpered, tears escaping my eyes. "Don't hurt them!"

"Too late," it grinned down at me and I let out a heart-stopping scream as it plunged its hand into my chest.

"ZARINA!" I blinked and I was standing in front of the cave again, Scott's hand on my shoulder. I groped my torso, but found no traces of blood or any signs that I'd been hurt. "What the hell happened? You've been standing in that exact position for ten minutes, doing nothing. The cops are already here."

I looked over and saw Stiles talking with his dad, though he kept glancing over at me worriedly. I licked my lips and took in calming breaths, but my heart wouldn't stop pounding. It all felt so **real**. But it was just a blackout.

"What was that?" I whispered and Scott's hand fell from my shoulder as he looked at me questioningly.

"Rina, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, no, I'm okay. I just, uh- y'know what? Don't worry about it," I stuttered out, laughing nervously.

I gave him a tight-lipped smiled and started walking towards the Stilinskis. He followed after a second of confusion.

"But was she bit before or after the car accident?" Stiles was saying as we walked up to him. He gave me a look and I shook my head slowly, signaling that I was fine. Of course, he didn't believe me, but didn't push it.

We watched in silence as his dad walked up the hill and into the cave, coming out a few second later with Malia's blanket. He walked down the hill and to us.

"You're sure it was her?" the sheriff asked.

"I looked her right in the eyes," Scott told him. "And they glowed just like mine."

"It makes sense, dad," Stiles persisted.

"But it wasn't a girl. It was a four-legged coyote, right?"

"Well, okay. But yeah, see, that's the point that we don't have figured out yet," his son said.

"But if she changed on a full moon, with her mom driving the car, _really really_ bad things could've happened," I interjected.

"Ripping, shredding, tearing things," Stiles clarified, motioning with his hand. "Which is probably what caused the accident. Think about it, dad, alright?"

I nodded when the sheriff looked doubtful. "So they're driving, right? Malia starts to change, she goes out of control, the mom crashes, and everyone dies."

"Except Malia," Stiles added. "She blames herself. Goes off running into the woods and eventually becomes trapped inside the body of a coyote."

"That makes sense," the sheriff conceded and I felt relief wash over me until he continued. "In a Chinese folktale!"

The two of us flinched back at his loud voice, admitting defeat.

"Guys, this is insane," he hissed. "I need this kept quiet. The three of you, not a word. I don't want anyone hearing about this. I _especially_ don't want Mr. Tate hearing about this." Stiles and I nodded in submission, but Scott stared off into the distance.

"Scott?" I touched his arm gently and he jumped.

"Sorry," he shook his head. "What did you say?" The sheriff opened his mouth to repeat his warning, but another cop car pulled up.

"Oh hell," the sheriff muttered. Agent McCall came out of the car with Mr. Tate in tow.

"Mr. Tate," he greeted, but the man was looking at the blanket. "Mr. Tate?"

"It's hers," he whispered, taking the blanket.

"Alright, wait here," McCall ordered and I glared at him.

"Dad," Scott began.

"I'll talk to you in a minute," the agent snapped, cutting him off. "I wouldn't mind hearing how your mom's okay with you running around in the woods this late." Scott stayed quiet. "Show me where you found that, Sheriff."

Mr. Stilinski sighed as the agent stalked up the trail and Tate walked away from us, eyes still stuck on the blanket like glue. I turned to Scott, closing off our triangle.

"Why didn't she turn back?" I questioned.

"Maybe she can't," Stiles offered, crossing his arms. I pursed my lips and the two men returned from the cave. Stiles' dad ordered us all to go home and we did, not wanting to cause more trouble than we had to.

* * *

"Are you gonna tell me what happened at the cave today?" Stiles' voice rang out of my cell phone as I laid in my bed tiredly.

"Do I have to?" I asked back, letting out a small groan.

"Z, I just want to help," he said softly.

"I know, Sti, I know," I replied. "It's hard to explain."

"Well, we have all night." I could hear the grin in his voice. "I don't know about you, but I'm not very eager to sleep tonight."

I snorted. "We have school tomorrow. Nightmares or not, we need sleep."

"Eh, I can live without it," he reassured. "As long as I'm spending my time talking to you, then sleep can wait."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Stilinski," I deadpanned.

"I'm serious! Jesus, can't I just be a cutesy boyfriend once in a while?"

The two of us burst into peals of laughter and I felt myself grow slightly less stressed out. He always put me before himself. Always. I hated it, sometimes, because he had less than no regard for his own welfare, but at times like this, it made me feel safe.

_Should I start with your little boyfriend? Limb from limb, Zarina. Limb. From. Limb._

My laughter stopped abruptly and my breath caught in my throat as I looked around my room. No one was there.

"I love you," I burst out, needing to tell him.

The fear and reality of the fact that I could actually lose him in less than a second was catching up to me. I couldn't let anything bad happen to him, but if something were to happen, I had to let him know. His laughter died down and I could almost see his soft smile.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Stiles, Scott, Allison, and I stood in the back of Mr. Yukimura's classroom, talking quietly together.

"Here's where we found the den," Stiles said, showing Allison the map on his phone. "It's right in the middle of the hiking trails."

"Well that could narrow it down," she nodded. "Coyotes travel in fixed trails, but I think you're right about her not going back to the den. Coyotes don't like wolves and they're really smart. If they don't want to be heard, they walk on their toes."

"Coyotes tip-toe?" Stiles asked, amazed.

"They tip-toe," Allison confirmed, rolling her eyes. The bell then rang and she started walking away.

"I got to go, but send me the pinned location," she called over her shoulder.

Stiles took a seat in the front and I sat beside him, looking over my shoulder as Kira went up to Scott and started talking to him.

"Aw," I cooed and motioned for Stiles to look at them. "That's cute."

"Such a girl," he scoffed jokingly.

"It's a good thing I _am_ a girl," I retorted, smirking. "Otherwise, you'd be dating a guy. Unless you're into that type of thing."

"Ha-ha. Cute," he rolled his eyes as Mr. Yukimura walked into the class and called for his daughter.

"I know, I try," I winked at him and turned back to Kira and Scott.

"-you forgot the research you did for that boy you like," her father was saying, handing her an incredibly large stack of papers.

Her face squeezed in embarrassment as she turned back to my friend, who was grinning wildly. I grimaced. Poor girl. I turned to face the front as Scott sat in his seat behind me, reading the large packet of papers he was given.

"Alright everyone," Mr. Yukimura said, "let's get started. We were just talking about internment camps and preserves of war. There's a passage in our reading that I'd like to go over in more detail. Who would like to come up and read aloud for us?"

The class stayed silent, everyone unwilling to go up and read like we were in the third grade. Then, he looked over at Stiles and I stiffened.

"Mr. Stilinski, how about you?" he suggested.

Stiles looked up at him with wide eyes and fidgeted with his pen. "Oh, uh, may- maybe someone else could?"

"Everyone participates in my class, Mr. Stilinski," Mr. Yukimura informed him.

"Okay," Stiles sighed out and got up from his chair, taking our teacher's spot at the podium.

I bit my lip as Stiles looked down at the book, hands clenching on the sides of the wooden podium and his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to make out the words. His breathing grew harsh and he looked up at the class, eyes twitching. Scott and I immediately stood up in worry.

"Stiles, you okay?" Scott asked, the two of us inching toward him slowly. He didn't respond, just continued to breathe harshly as he slumped against the podium.

"Uh, we should take him to the nurses' office," I told our teacher as the two of us grabbed a hold of Stiles' arms. He nodded and we each hurried out the door and toward the men's bathroom.

Stiles burst through the door, shoulder slamming against he doorframe as he entered the bathroom.

"Stiles, dude, listen to me," Scott spoke hurriedly. "Is this another panic attack?"

He gripped the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. "It's a dream- this is a dream. This is just a dream," he muttered to himself.

"No it's not!" I told him, looking at him pleadingly. "This is real, you're here. You're here with us!"

"Okay, um," Scott thought for a second. "What do you do? I mean like, h-how do you tell if this is- if you're awake or you're dreaming?"

"Fingers," Stiles gasped out, swallowing. "You- you count your fingers. You have extra fingers in dreams."

I held up a finger and looked at him. "H-How many do I have?" But Stiles was still panting, looking down at the sink. "Come on, Stiles, honey, look at me okay? Count with me. _One."_

I held up another finger.

"_Two_?" he gasped out, though it sounded more like a question. I continued to hold up fingers, making him count each one until we finally reached ten.

"Ten," I told him confidently, nodding. "Ten."

His breathing slowed and his back hit the wall as his body slid down onto the floor. I hurriedly sat next to him and he laid his forehead on my shoulder as I rubbed his head soothingly.

"What the hell is happening to me?" he asked us.

"We'll figure it out. You're gonna be okay," Scott assured him.

Stiles looked up from my shoulder and at the two of us, eyebrows furrowed.

"Am I? Are _you_?" he asked weakly. "Scott, you can't transform. Allison's being haunted by her dead aunt. Zarina's hearing and seeing things that aren't even there. And I'm straight up losing my mind. No, we can't do this. We can't- we can't help Malia. We can't help anyone."

Scott sat down in front of him slowly. "We can try. We can always try."

* * *

"A couple of students said they thought they saw it running across the field and back into the woods," the sheriff was walking with Stiles and I after Scott has mysteriously run off to save Kira from the werecoyote that was attacking her. "Thank god nobody got hurt."

"What happens if she does hurt someone?" Stiles inquired.

"Most likely, they'll have to put her down."

My eyes widened, "Wh-what? Can they do that? Put her down?"

"Dad, try to remember there's a girl in there. One that you'll be killing," he looked at his father seriously. "Come on, you're not back to not believing, are you?"

He turned to the two of us as we stopped walking. "You know what? I believe that there's a lot I don't understand yet. But that doesn't mean that anything and everything imaginable is suddenly possible," he said, exasperated. "Now are you 100 percent sure that this is a girl, not an animal?"

"Yes," Stiles answered immediately, "because Scott's sure."

We looked behind us and Scott was standing there, watching us. Stiles muttered something quietly and the werewolf nodded.

"Alright, let's figure this thing out," the sheriff conceded, walking us into the locker room.

Kira was sitting with her dad while Stiles' went to talk to his deputies and scope out the scene. I followed Stiles and Scott over to his backpack, which had been ripped open by the coyote.

"Yo, guys. I think I know what she was looking for," he pulled the baby doll from the other night from his bag.

"You took the doll from the car?" I smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing the spot. "Yes, I thought Scott could us it. For, like, her scent."

"Where did you get that?" Tate stormed over to us and ripped the doll out of his hands. "Where did you find this? It belonged to my daughter."

"Sorry," Stiles apologized weakly. The sheriff came over to us and pushed us away from the livid man.

"Mr. Tate, I don't know how you heard about this; if you've got your own police scanner or what not, but you can't be here," he said, urging the man to step back. But then he froze, pushing back Tate's jacket to reveal a gun.

"I have a permit," Tate defended himself.

"California schools are gun-free zones, permit or not permit," the sheriff warned him. "You need to leave, Mr. Tate. Now." He pushed the man back harder this time.

"You-you find that animal," he spat. "You find that _thing_."

The three of us teenagers looked at each other.

"We're gonna need some help," I crossed my arms.

"I know who can," Scott replied without hesitation, dialing a number on his phone.

I felt bad for Mr. Tate at that moment. He had no idea that the 'thing' he wanted us to catch was his own daughter.

* * *

Stiles, Scott, Isaac, and I surrounded the metal table in Deaton's office, trying to find a peaceful way to get Malia to return to a human.

"Xylazine. It's a tranquilizer for horses," the vet explained. "For a werecoyote, expect it to work within seconds."

He put three vials of clear liquid on the metal surface in front of him. "I only have three. So whoever's shooting needs to be a damn good shot."

The boys looked at me and I shook my head, "Unless I'm allowed to throw the darts at her, I'm not an option." They sighed and fell into a thoughtful silence.

"Allison's a perfect shot," Scott said.

"Well, she used to be," Isaac argued realistically.

"She can do it."

"If we manage to find the thing."

"Okay, what's the point of him?" Stiles cut in, irritated with Isaac's lack of positivity. "Seriously, what is the purpose of him besides the persistent negativity and the scarf? What's up with the scarf, anyways? It's 65 degrees outside."

I stifled a laugh under my hand and Isaac shot me a sarcastic look. I cleared my throat and smacked Stiles' arm, giving him a mockingly scolding glare.

"Look, maybe I'm asking the question no one wants to ask. How do we turn a coyote back into a girl, when she hasn't been a girl for 8 years?" he explained.

"You remember the night Peter trapped us in the school?" Scott looked at Stiles and I.

"Vividly," I shuddered.

"In the gym, he was able to make me turn, just by the sound of his voice. Deucalion did the same thing in the distillery," he continued.

"This is a werecoyote. Who knows if it'll even work if we can find someone to teach you," Deaton countered.

"That's why you called Derek first," Stiles realized.

Scott nodded. "But he's not answering any of my calls. I could try it on my own, but right now, I'm too scared to change into just a werewolf."

"We need a real Alpha," Stiles rubbed his chin and Scott had a wounded expression on his face.

"Real encouraging there, Sti," I piped in.

"You guys know what I mean," he corrected himself hurriedly. "An Alpha who can do…Alpha things. You know, an Alpha who can get it going…"

"Up?" Isaac suggested.

"Oh, lord," I groaned, closing my eyes as I sighed.

"Great, so I'm an Alpha with performance issues," Scott mumbled.

"Is there anyone besides Derek who can help?" Deaton questioned.

"I wouldn't trust Peter," Isaac admitted and I nodded in agreement.

"The twins?" I offered.

Deaton shook his head, shooting down my idea. "The twins aren't Alphas anymore. After what Jennifer did, almost killing them? It broke that part of them."

"Yeah, but what if they still know how to do it," Stiles argued.

"Nobody has seen them for weeks."

Stiles and I looked up at each other with small grins.

"Well, that's not totally true," Stiles admitted slowly.

"We know where to find them," I assured them. "And they'll help us. I'll make sure of that."

* * *

**AN: ****_THIS IS EMOTIONALLY HARD TO WRITE CAUSE SO MUCH PAIN._** _**Tonights episode was not okay. I'm unstable and I actually really liked it, though 99% of tumblr would disagree, but ehhhh. I won't say too much cause some of you may not have watched it, but yeah. It was goood. Arden Cho is a goddess omfg.**_

_**Thank you all for the support! It makes me smile each time I see a new notification. Love you all.**_

_**Please review/fave/follow if you enjoyed. oh and tell me any reactions in the reviews. I'd like to know how you guys feel about all this.**_

_**xx.**_


	3. Three

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

Stiles yanked open the enormous sliding door to Derek's apartment. I stepped inside and the echo of my shoes reverberated through the empty loft. Lydia walked further into the room, lips pulled tightly together.

"They said they'd meet us here," she sighed, looking around.

Stiles and I walked up to her side and a grunt came from Scott behind us. I whipped around and saw the twins hurtling Scott towards us. I grabbed Lydia and Stiles grabbed me, tugging us out of the way.

The two omegas smirked before going straight for Scott, who didn't even have time to get up before Aiden's fist made contact with his jaw. I flinched for him. Then, the two continued to literally beat the shit out of my best friend with careless abandon.

After a few punches and kicks, Ethan hooked his arms under Scott's armpits from behind while Aiden just threw his fists at him. Scott cried out loudly, but he didn't do anything to fight back. He was too weak. With one final blow to his jaw, Scott fell to his knees.

"I thought you guys were gonna teach me to roar," he grunted.

"We are," Aiden snapped at him.

"You do it by giving in. Giving in and letting go. That's how Deucalion taught us control," Ethan continued, picking Scott up but his shirt and putting him on his feet.

"He, you know, that's funny," Stiles pitched in, gesturing to the two of us. "We've actually tried something like this one time using a heart monitor and lacrosse balls." The twins glowered at him. "But you're right. Beating the living crap out of him is probably a lot better."

"That's your plan? You kick my ass?" Scott asked angrily.

"You're afraid to turn," Aiden told him. "We're gonna make you."

"You turn, then you kick our asses," Ethan added as if this was something we should've already known.

"And then you roar." Aiden let out an earth-shaking roar, his eyes flashing blue.

"You don't think you can let go with us?" Ethan questioned harshly as his twin shoved Scott towards him.

"You think you're going to hurt us?" Aiden continued as his brother caught my friend.

"Come on, McCall." Ethan shoved him between them. "Give it your all. We can always heal."

Scott threw a fist at Ethan, but he intercepted it with ease, pushing him backwards. Aiden threw a punch at Scott.

"You're an Alpha. You want to roar like one, you've got to give in full throttle," Ethan yelled over Scott's grunts. "You've got to be the monster. Become the beast. Become everything you're afraid of."

"That's what gives you power. It gives you strength," Aiden went on.

Scott tried to hit Ethan again, but the omega sidestepped him, instead punching him in the back. Scott fell to the ground, spitting up blood.

"Giving in to it doesn't make you the bad guy!" Aiden shouted. I flinched and Stiles pulled me into him protectively.

"So long as you can control it," Ethan added.

"Sometimes control's a little overrated," Aiden shot at his brother before kicking my friend. Scott groaned in pain and I felt my fists clench.

"Fight back, Scott," I muttered. "You can do this." He looked up at me and I gave him a pleading look, but Aiden's foot made contact with his side.

"And what if I can't control it? What if I can't turn back?" Scott asked weakly, clutching his side.

"Then it takes over. You become Malia. You get further and further away from being human. You turn into an animal, or worse…" Ethan trailed off.

"You turn into Peter," Aiden finished, not hiding his disgust for the old Alpha.

Scott breathed in and I gave him an encouraging nod as he pushed himself to standing. He wiped his mouth and cried out as he shot himself at Aiden. The twin caught him and smashed him onto the desk, climbing on top of him and continually slamming fist after fist into his face.

My jaw clenched as I tried to keep my anger in check. I fought back the urge to tackle Aiden onto the ground, not wanting to anger the wolf. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't let him hurt Scott.

I dodged Stiles as he grabbed for my arm and hurled myself at Aiden with newfound strength, knocking him onto the ground under me. I locked him between my legs and held a knife at his throat threateningly.

"You're done," I growled lowly, pushing the knife harder against his neck. The werewolf struggled under me, but I kept him firmly pinned to the ground.

"That's enough!" Ethan grabbed the back of my shirt and shoved me away from his brother, Stiles catching me in his arms as I stumbled.

"I thought we were helping him!" Aiden snarled, brandishing a finger at me. "If she hadn't interfered, this plan would've worked."

"You help too much," Ethan shot back simply.

The two left the loft soon after we went over to Scott, who was spitting out blood. Stiles and I helped him sit up as Lydia stood off to the side, arms crossed.

"You didn't have to do that," Scott looked up at me seriously. "You could've gotten hurt."

"I can take care of myself," I replied gently. "No one hurts you like that. Unless it's me or Stiles." The two boys chuckled and I grinned.

"Well, thank you anyways," he said genuinely and I patted his head fondly.

* * *

Stiles drove at alarming speeds towards the preserve. I was in the front beside him and Lydia sat in the back, all three of us silent as he drove.

The car screeched to a stop just as Scott's bike and Allison's car came up the gravel road. The three of us stepped out of the car, meeting everyone else outside. An awkward silence enveloped the air.

"Anyone else think we might be doing more harm than good?" Lydia glanced at us nervously.

"We're trying to keep a father from killing his own daughter," Scott informed her.

"Actually, we're trying to keep a guy from killing a coyote, who is actually his daughter, who we don't know how to change from a coyote back to his daughter," Isaac corrected unhelpfully.

Stiles narrowed his eyes at him. "And again with the not helping." Isaac shot him a sarcastic smile. I looked up to the sky as if to ask 'why me?'.

Scott rolled his eyes and ignored them. "Did you bring it?"

Allison hesitated before going over to her trunk and pulling out a sniper. I examined the long gun from a distance, slightly impressed, but mostly fearing for her abilities to pull through with this.

"You sure you want to do this?" I asked gently.

"Y-Yeah, I can do this," she replied, trying to sound sure of herself.

Isaac gave her a reassuring smile and she returned it, looking more at ease than before. Then, Isaac and Scott looked off into the distance, hearing something.

"Hey, hey, what's going on? I know that look, and it isn't a good one. That's the look that says something really really bad is happening and I do not like that look," Stiles babbled nervously.

The two werewolves sprang into action. Scott jumped onto his bike, revving the engine as he drove away, Isaac running off after him closely. Allison followed the two, not looking behind her.

"Scott, wait!" Stiles and I yelled after him, but he was already gone.

* * *

I groaned inwardly and pulled at my hair in frustration. "Stiles, call your dad. See if he knows anything about what's happening."

He complied, dialing his father's number hurriedly. After a few minutes of arguing back and forth with the sheriff, Stiles hung up and I looked at him expectantly.

"It took the doll again," he informed us. "What the hell is so important about this doll?"

I watched his face go from confusion to realization. "What? Did you figure something out?"

"It's the doll," he repeated. "It's the doll?"

"Okay, we get it. There's a doll. But what's the big deal?" I asked, not liking the way his voice sounded.

"Why would it go all the way to school and all the way back just for a doll?" Stiles continued talking to himself as he knelt. "One that was in the car wreck in the first place. We didn't find it in the den."

"It likes the doll, who care?" Lydia sassed.

"It likes the doll a lot," Stiles sighed.

"What kind of doll was it?"

"I don't know. It's a doll," he shrugged. "It's got little arms, a big baby head, and dead, soulless eyes. Actually, I took a pic. Here." He showed her the picture on his phone.

"That's Malia?"

"Yeah, we found the jacket and scarf in the den," Stiles confirmed.

"Wait, she's not the one holding the doll. That's her sister right?" I glanced up from the picture at them. "It was her doll then and she ket it at the car. Meaning, she didn't want it with her, but at the car wreck. She wanted the doll at the wreck."

"I know what she's doing," Stiles met my eyes, both of us understanding.

But Lydia didn't seem to catch on. "What? What are you guys talking about?"

"I know where she's going," we said simultaneously, walking off into the woods together.

"Call Scott. Try and get him to answer," I instructed.

"Scott, it's me. You've got to call me back as soon as you get this. It wasn't Malia's doll. It was her sister's," Stiles left a voicemail. "Malia left it at the car for her sister. It's like bringing flowers to the grave, okay? And we stole the flowers. So that's all she's trying to do, alright? Bring the doll back to the grave, to the car wreck. That's where she's headed."

I nodded, biting my lip as he explained our theory. It had to be it. There was not other explanation for why the doll was so damn important.

"Guys," Lydia whimpered from behind us. Her left foot was in between two metal clamps. An animal trap. "Guys!"

"Lydia, don't move," I warned her as we inched closer to examine it.

"Look for a warning label," she said through harsh breaths.

"What?" Stiles looked up at her.

"Good idea, Lyd. There's supposed to be instructions on how to disarm it somewhere on the sides," I explained.

"Why the hell would they put instructions on the bottom of a trap?" Stiles sighed out.

"Because animals can't read," I deadpanned. He nodded and started to look for the label.

I found the place where it should've been, but the warning was ripped off. "Uh, oh god," I swallowed thickly. "Some idiot ripped it off."

"What are we going to do?" Lydia's voice cracked and I stood, rubbing her arm gently.

"You'll be okay, I promise," I told her sincerely. "We'll figure this out."

"But will she really?" the voice from my head spoke and I saw it over Lydia's shoulder, sneering at me. "Can you honestly save your friend? Or any of them?"

"I can and I will," I growled at it. "You're not going to stop me. I don't give a shit who you are."

It laughed loudly, evilly and I saw its eyes look down at Stiles. "Hm, this one seems smart, but broken. Such an easy target."

"Leave him alone," I warned dangerously.

"If that's what you want, then just let us in, Zarina," it cooed. "Or else, we might just have to find another host. We already have one in mind."

"Stay away from Stiles!" I shouted, angry. "He doesn't deserve this!"

"Consider this a warning. You can either let us in, or the boy can take this burden from you," it continued, ignoring me. "Your choice."

"No!" Lydia was yelling and my eyes darted around. The thing was gone.

I was standing in the middle of the trap, like Lydia was not two seconds ago, and my foot was about to leave the metal plate. I hurriedly pushed it back down and heaved a sigh of relief.

Stiles was still bent by the trap, looking more frantic than ever as he tried to figure it out. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he licked his lips.

"What happened?" I asked the two, confused and freaked out.

"You mean you don't remember freaking shoving your foot onto the metal plate in place of mine? You didn't even say anything! You moved my foot and you were just about to get your own cut off. Are you stupid?" Lydia exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"N-No, I just…" I took slow breaths and spoke with more certainty. "No, I'll be okay. Stiles can do this."

"B-But what if I can't? What are we gonna do then?" Stiles looked up at me pleadingly.

"We're not going to do anything because that's not gonna happen," I assured him. "You'll figure this out. I know you can. You always do."

Stiles gave me a smile and looked down at the trap, concentrating hard. I saw his eyes light up with an idea as he found a valve on the side. "

"Okay, I found something. Ready?" he glanced at me and I nodded, sure that this would work. I trusted him more than anyone else. "Here we go."

He twisted the valve and grabbed me by the waist, lifting me out of the trap just as the jaws clamped together.

My hands clenched on the front of his shirt as he hugged me tightly against him, the both of us breathing heavily as we stared at the trap. We looked at each other and smiled in relief. Stiles pulled me closer to him, kissing my temple as our hearts slowed.

Suddenly, a loud roar rang through the trees, making birds fly and the ground shake violently. Scott. I grinned as the sound continued as strong as ever. He'd finally done it. He found control.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about," Stiles breathed out.

* * *

**AN: ****_Okay apologies for the short chapter, but I was on such a tight schedule today, I'm sorryyyy! But PLEASE READ THIS BECAUSE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT._**

_**Alright, so, I've been having thoughts about taking a temporary hiatus. I really want to do my best to make sure this story actually makes sense and I still have to find ways to fit in my ideas while at the same time making sure you guys can understand. Because apparently, some of ya'll aren't quite getting what I'm trying to do with the story, so yeah. This is difficult af.**_

_**Thoughts on that? Should I take a short break from this and rethink things or should I just keep going at my pace? Idk. Lately I'm really insecure about this story and I just feel like it's not going as well as I'd hoped it would. Feedback is appreciated (:**_

_**But on a happier note, thanks for all the support and love. It makes this decision hard to make because I don't wanna disappoint ya'll. Sigh. But please keep that up. Makes me a happy author. Love you guys!**_

_**xx.**_


	4. Four

**AN: _Okay, so I decided that the hiatus isn't going to happen NOW, but it may or may not happen soon, depending. I found myself unable to make you guys wait because ya'll are so sweet and awesome. So here I am. Updating as usual. (:_**

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

"Boo," I said as I slammed the door to Stiles' car after getting inside. He jumped up and hit his head on the roof of the car with a yell.

"Jesus Christ! Zarina," he groaned, rubbing his head. I laughed and kissed his cheek, apologetic.

"My bad."

He rolled his eyes and started driving towards the school, the streetlights along the sidewalks illuminating the road.

Mischief Night had finally come. It was our favorite day/night because we could prank anyone without any remorse. But it was also Coach's birthday, which meant we could and would mess with him.

Stiles parked the jeep in the back lot and we hurried up to the double doors. I easily picked the lock with a bobby pin, the door swinging open freely afterwards.

Stiles and I locked hands as we sprinted through the halls quietly, heading for Finstock's office. As we entered the locker room, Stiles called Scott, putting the phone on speaker.

"Get your ass down here now," Stiles demanded immediately. "We have a job to do."

"Dude, I'm already in bed," Scott complained. "And aren't we getting a little old for this?"

"Of course not!" I hissed out.

"We do this for coach," Stiles added.

"I thought we did this _to_ coach," Scott laughed.

"Whatever, oaky? You know he needs this," Stiles insisted as we shined out flashlights in the empty room. "He lives for this stuff. He loves it."

"But it's the middle of the night," Scott groaned. I huffed and helped Stiles take out the bag he'd set up with his equipment during the school day.

"Twelve fifteen, actually. Which means it's after midnight and officially Mischief Night/Day," Stiles handed me a drill and I stared at it wide eyed. He shrugged. "And, by perfectly awesome coincidence, it also happens to be coach's birthday."

He continued pulling out tools and I set the drill down gently, either horrified or amused by how hard my boyfriend was working for this.

"So if you are not down here in five seconds, I will destroy you. Okay? And I mean five, four, three, two-" We both whirled around to face Scott, who was standing behind us. His eyes were bright red and he looked like an actual Alpha. I yelped and Stiles fell back into his locker.

"One," Scott finished, grinning as his eyes returned to normal.

"I hate you," Stiles whimpered as I rubbed my forehead. Scott helped Stiles up sheepishly and I smacked his arm weakly.

"You're horrible," I said, pouting mockingly and he just chuckled. "Seriously. You suck."

"Yeah, sure. Let's just do this, yeah?" Scott brushed me off, heading towards Finstock's office with Stiles. I grinned lightly and followed them, completely ready to give coach the prank of a lifetime.

* * *

The next morning, I hopped out of my brother's car and began walking to school when I saw Scott and Stiles standing in front of the twins. I raised an eyebrow as I approached them.

"-that's kind of a change of pace for you guys. Usually, you're just hurting, maiming, and killing," Stiles was saying and I narrowed my eyes at the twins.

"We need a pack," Ethan told him.

"We need an Alpha," Aiden clarified.

"Yeah…." My voice rose in pitch as I trailed off. "Absolutely not. But that's hilarious."

"Seriously, you two should join a comedy club," Stiles pitched in from next to me.

"You came to us for help. We helped," Ethan reminded us.

"You beat his face into a bloody pulp," Stiles mused. "That's not helping. That's like the completely opposite of helping."

"More like counter-productive," I drawled out.

"Why would I say yes?" Scott asked.

"We'd give you strength. We'd make you more powerful," Aiden explained. "There's not reason to say no."

"I can think of one," Isaac's voice overlapped him as he walked up to us. I sighed internally. This wasn't going to end well. He looked down at the twins, arms crossed over his chest. "Like the two of you holding Derek's claws while Kali impaled Boyd. In fact, I don't know why we're not impaling them right now."

"You want to try?" Ethan growled, eyes flashing dangerously. Isaac was about to follow his lead, but Scott caught him by the wrist.

"Sorry, but they don't trust you. And neither do I," Scott admitted.

I sent the twins a smug smirk, waving my fingers teasingly at them as I grabbed Stiles' hand and led the boys away from them. As we walked towards the double doors, I stopped abruptly when the image of a man hiding inside coach's office, clutching a stapler, flashed behind my eyes. Stiles bumped into my back and steadied himself.

"What's up?" he asked as Scott walked up next to us, the two of them eyeing me curiously. "Zarina?"

"Oh!" I snapped out of my thoughts. "It's nothing. Just worried about getting pranked."

I laughed nervously, hoping to throw them off. Naturally, it didn't work, but they played along as we continued into the hallways together.

As soon as we opened the two doors, a toilet paper roll shot at us, causing us all to move out of the way.

"Hey- that's my face!" Stiles called out, rolling his eyes, but walked alongside Scott and I, patting our friend's shoulder with his free hand. "Good decision, buddy. Good Alpha decision."

"I hope so," Scott replied.

"Oh, you know so," I shot back, grinning.

Stiles narrowly avoided something on the floor with a small 'oh' and released my hand to unlock his locker. Scott and I leaned on separate sides of his locker, waiting.

Stiles and I both noticed Scott staring at someone, so we turned our heads toward them, doing a double take when we realized it was Kira.

"What are you looking at?" I questioned slowly.

"Me?" Scott asked innocently.

"You."

"You looking at her?" Stiles continued, jerking his head in Kira's direction.

"Her?" Scott played dumb as Stiles looked around the hallway cautiously before stuffing eggs in his locker. "Who, her?"

"_Her _her. Kira. You like her?"

"No. I mean, yeah, yeah, she's okay. She's new."

"So, ask her out," I prodded encouragingly.

"No."

"Yes. Now." Stiles slammed his fist on his locker to shut it firmly and the three of us started to walk again.

"Right now?" Scott sounded unsure, looking at me.

"Right now, Scott," Stiles intervened. "I don't think you get it yet. You're an Alpha, okay? You are the apex predator. Everyone wants you, y'know? You're like the hot girl that everyone wants."

Stiles and I rounded on him so we stood in front of him as he looked at the two of us incredulously. Isaac walked up next to me just as Scott spoke.

"The hot girl?"

"You are the hottest girl," the two of us said together, pointing at him as we walked away towards class. I gave Scott a small grin over my shoulder as we left and I vaguely heard what he said.

"I'm the hot girl," he nodded with a smile.

"Yes, you are," Isaac agreed and the two of them laughed together.

* * *

"SON OF A BITCH!" Coach's frustrated yell came from his office.

I didn't bother to hide my proud smile as Scott and Stiles did the same. I poked Stiles' back and he looked over at me. We fist-bumped as Finstock walked into the classroom.

"You think it's funny that every Halloween, my house gets egged?" Finstock ranted, fists slamming on Scott's desk. Stiles threw his fist in the air and I found my leg bouncing up and down in excitement. "A man's house is supposed to be his castle. Mine's a freakin' omelet."

He turned to his desk and found a present on top. Finstock slowly approached it. "Oh, this? We're gonna do this again? I don't think so."

The coach then proceeded to smash the present onto the ground, stomping on it until the sound of breaking class sounded. His brow furrowed in confusion and he glanced at the class before crouching and picking up a broken piece of a mug.

"Happy Birthday. Love, Greenburg," he read from the card.

Somewhere behind me, I heard Greenburg himself let his head fall onto his desk with a slam. I felt bad for the guy. Coach's somewhat obsessive hatred for him was unfair.

* * *

Scott and I walked through the halls side by side, Stiles leaving us alone after promising to be back.

"That was extremely gratifying," I bemused as we walked, happily adjusting my backpack on my shoulder.

"Definitely," Scott agreed. "Are we ever going to stop loving this so much?"

I pretended to think before shaking my head. "Nope. Never."

We both chuckled, but he stopped, turning serious. "What'd you see earlier this morning?"

"What do you mean?" I questioned, feigning ignorance.

"Don't lie. You know you can't lie to me," he countered.

"Because you're my best friend or because your werewolf abilities give me away anyways?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Both," Scott answered nonchalantly. I sighed, about to tell him, when I saw Stiles running up to us from his place by his father. Obviously, something was up.

"Everything okay?" I inquired.

"It's a long story," he said quickly. "But I need your help."

I glanced at Scott, who nodded in understanding. I bit my lip and Stiles reached for my hand as he led me towards the east stairwell. Lydia, Allison, and Isaac were waiting for us there and the five of us immediately descended the staircase.

"The shrapnel bomber, the one that killed all those kids, Barrow. He's somewhere nearby," Stiles exaplined. "He told Melissa at the hospital that he blew up the bus because the kids' eyes were glowing."

"Wait, Barrow went after kids with glowing eyes?" Isaac questioned. "Are you positive that's what he said?"

"Yeah, no one knows how he woke up from anesthesia. Just that when they opened him up, the found a tumor full of live flies," Stiles confirmed. "Which, by any other circumstance would be any kinds of awesome-"

"Actually, in _no_ circumstance would that be awesome at all," I cut him off, pursing my lips.

"Wait, did you say flies?" Lydia questioned from behind us, frozen in her spot. We all turned to her and she looked anxious.

"Lydia?" Allison stepped closer to her.

"All day, I've been hearing this sound. It's like this- this buzzing," she informed us.

"Like the sound of flies," Allison finished. Lydia nodded, a deep sigh leaving her mouth. We all started to approach her cautiously.

"Exactly like the sound of flies."

Then, a bright flash interrupted my vision and I saw a man hidden in the chemistry closet, holding what appeared to be multiple tools that could be used to make a bomb. Barrow.

I took a sharp intake of breath as I returned to reality, noticing that everyone was staring at me. I blinked rapidly, trying to refocus. Once I did, I glanced at all of them worriedly.

"We need to tell the cops. Now."

* * *

"Dad! Dad!" Stiles shouted as the two of us followed the sheriff down the stairs.

"Yeah?" he asked, facing us.

"You can't leave yet," Stiles said through his harsh breathing.

"We've got an eyewitness that puts Barrow by the train station."

"Let's go, Stilinski," Agent McCall called out.

"Whoa, whoa," Stiles held up his hands to stop him.

"Look, Mr. Stilinski, Lydia and I know he's here," I pleaded. "I _saw _him."

"In person?" he questioned and I pursed my lips.

"Well, not in person but-"

"They had a feeling. A supernatural feeling," Stiles cut in. "And whenever Zarina predicts this stuff, it's never wrong."

"Wait, Lydia wasn't on the chessboard," the sheriff commented.

"She is now," Stiles informed him.

"Kanima?"

"Um, Banshee," he corrected nervously.

"Oh, god," the sheriff sighed.

"I know, I know how it sounds. But basically it means that she can sense when someone's close to death," Stiles clarified.

"Can she sense that I'm about to kill you?" he looked pointedly at hius son.

"I don't know," his eyebrows furrowed as the two of us looked over at Lydia by the doorway. She waggled her fingers at us nonchalantly, a polite smile on her face. The sheriff waved back and looked at us.

"Alright, look. I'm not saying I don't believe, but right now, I'm going with eyewitness over Banshee," he admitted, stepping backwards. "We're leaving a few deputies here. The school's on lockdown till three. Nobody comes in, nobody comes out. Kids, that's the best I've got right now. That's the best I can give you two."

"You're leaving us here? Your son and your practically daughter-in-law? That is not- that is the worst-" But his father had already gone off with McCall. I groaned loudly and tilted my head to him, frowning deeply.

"We're screwed," I huffed out. "Majorly screwed. If I die at school, I'm going to haunt the shit out of this place."

"We aren't going to die," Stiles deadpanned. "Calm down. I already have another plan in mind."

The two of us went up to Lydia, who had an expectant look on her face as she glanced at me. I shook my head lightly as Stiles talked.

"We're going to have to find him on our own."

* * *

Our little trio met Allison in a classroom and after a few minutes of rushed explanation, she was breaking out of the school to get hom.

"The bestiary is literally a thousand pages. If I'm going to find anything about flies coming out of people's bodies, it could take me all night," she warned, one leg out the window.

"Remember, the word in archaic Latin for fly is _musca_," Lydia told her.

"Got it," Allison muttered and then dropped down the window.

"Where do we start?" the redhead turned to Stiles and I.

"Upstairs," I instructed and Stiles' eyes looked up at the clock. We had less than forty-five minutes to do this.

"We gotta go," Stiles grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs to the second floor, Lydia close behind.

The art room was completely barren when we stepped inside, some easels set up around the area haphazardly.

"Scott and Isaac are in the basement, right?" Lydia inquired.

"Yeah, with Ethan and Aiden," Stiles nodded. "The plan is, we meet in the middle in the boiler room."

I looked at a drawing someone had made of a large smoke cloud. Boiler room. Explosions. Glowing eyes. It connected.

"All of the wolves," I muttered, pulling on Stiles' hand to stop him from moving further. "All of the wolves, who have glowing eyes, are in the boiler room."

"Oh my god," he realized. "An engineer could us a boiler room to blow up the whole school."

"We have to get them out of there," Lydia said softly.

"We have to get the_ entire student body_ out of here," I suggested urgently.

"How do we do that?" Lydia questioned.

Stiles' face had that knowing look on it that I so often hated before he pulled me along with him to the main floor. We skidded to a stop in front of the fire alarm.

"You sure you want to do this?" I bit my lip.

"If you're positive he's still in here, then I'm going to do anything to keep people safe," he shrugged and pulled the alarm. The loud bell rang in our ears as people rushed out of the halls and to the quad.

The two of us looked a Lydia, whose smile fell off her face as she looked over our shoulders. I slowly turned my head to my left and saw Finstock glowering at Stiles.

"Wow," Stiles flinched.

Coach grabbed his ear and dragged him down the hall so harshly, our hands lost connection. Lydia and I followed the two out the door.

"Pulling a fire alarm on Mischief Night is one thing. Doing it when there's a mass murderer spotted nearby is insane!" I heard Finstock yell from Lydia and I's place by the doorway. "If I was four years younger, I'd punch you."

"What? Coach, that doesn't even make sense," Stiles intervened.

"Oh, well, it does to me!" he finished before stomping off into the building. Lydia and I went up to Stiles, who was rubbing his ear gingerly.

"There," Stiles gestured to the werewolves a small distance away and I took Stiles' wrist in my hand as we ran over to them.

"We didn't find anything," Aiden revealed.

"Not even a scent," Scott admitted.

"It's three o'clock, so school's over," Stiles pointed out. "It there was a bomb, wouldn't he have set it off by now?"

"Does that mean everyone's safe?"

The boys looked at Lydia and I expectantly. We just shared a frustrated look. Barrow was still in there somewhere. We knew it, but couldn't prove it. Not anymore.

"We don't…we don't know," I sighed out, looking down at my feet in shame.

* * *

My feet were kicked up behind me as I laid on my stomach on Stiles' bed. He had nailed pictures to his wall with yarn attached to them, much like an investigation board in a police station. Even with everything going so horribly wrong, he was still doing his best to figure something out.

"So, what do these colors mean?" I spoke softly.

"You know what they mean," he raised an eyebrow at me. "We spent like two days learning this stuff together."

I giggled, remembering the long hours we spent reading police codes out of his father's handbook. "Yeah, but I forgot about the yarn part. It didn't seem relevant at the time, so I blanked out while you were teaching it to me."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "They're the different stages of investigations. Green is solved, yellow is to be determined, and blue is just…pretty."

"And the red one?" I looked down at the ball of yarn nearby.

"Unsolved."

I glanced around the room slowly, "Um, you only have red on the board."

"Yes, I'm aware, thank you," he said, turning his head to me.

I grinned slightly and started wrapping the red yarn around my finger as I thought.

"Did you get in trouble for pulling the fire alarm?" I looked at him from behind my eyelashes.

"Detention everyday for the rest of the week. But I don't care. We were on to something," he nodded slowly as his eyes maneuvered around his board.

"I was the one who said I saw him in the building. I told everyone he was still inside. For all I know, he could've just been in another closet in some other place," I pursed my lips guiltily. "I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have said anything."

Stiles knelt in front of me. "Stop that. You're not stupid. Zarina, you saw something and Lydia heard something. He was there. Even if you were wrong about everything you've ever said, I'd believe you each time," Stiles said softly, unwrapping the yarn from my finger and kissing my hand. "Hell, if you wanted me to, I'd go over there and search the entire school till the sun came up."

I smiled timidly at him and he returned it, not showing any signs of doubt or uncertainty. My eyes shifted slightly to the sharpie in his hand and his followed it. The thought occurred to us at once.

"We have to go back to the school," he told me and I nodded, swinging my legs off the bed and following him into his jeep.

* * *

We rushed into the chemistry lab, me in front as we stumbled up the stairs. Once we entered the lab, Stiles and I immediately went to the storage closet and opened it. Too easily.

"Um, that was supposed to be locked," Lydia pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," Stiles agreed.

"It smells like chemicals," Lydia commented.

"This is where I saw him," I realized, seeing the blood splattered on the floor and the familiar set up. "In my vision. He was standing right here. I was right."

"That's probably why they couldn't smell him," Stiles deducted. "The chemicals were blocking his scent."

"Why don't I feel good about this?" Lydia asked and we turned to meet her nervous gaze.

"Probably because he was here to kill somebody," Stiles reasoned.

"But who?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," I licked my lips and left the closet, looking around the classroom.

"There has to be something in here," Stiles mused to himself as we separated to inspect the classroom.

I walked up to the chalkboard and looked at the numbers closely.

"Hey, Lydia, are these atomic numbers?" I called out to her. She and Stiles went up to me as she nodded.

"Is it a formula?" Stiles questioned.

"Not really," Lydia answered, taking chalk between her fingers. "Nineteen's potassium."

"Fifty-three is iodine," I recognized the familiar numbers.

"And eighty-eight is radium," she completed. "The first two make potassium iodide." She wrote a K next to the number.

"Potassium is K?" Stiles piped up.

"From Kalium, the scientific neo-Latin name," she explained as she marked the next number with an I and the final number with an R-A.

"Kira," I muttered, reading the coded message. Someone had told Barrow to target Kira. I just hoped Scott would be able to protect her.

* * *

"Scott," I slapped his cheek as he lay on the street, unconscious. "Scott!" After one more slap, Scott sat up, gasping. A small cut was on his forehead.

"Barrow, he- he took Kira!"

I sat up and nodded slowly. "Yeah, we know. He was after her the whole time. It's a long story."

Scott got to his feet and dialed Isaac's number. His voice was frantic as he talked, but Isaac didn't seem to know anything.

"Alright, thanks," Scott said finally, hanging up as he walked back over to the three of us. "We have to think of something; he's gonna kill her."

"I knew he was there," Lydia mentioned softly. "We did. But, how did I know that? Zarina saw it, but how did I know?"

"Well, you heard the flies," Stiles reminded her.

"Do you hear anything now?" I inquired softly. She looked away.

"Nothing," she answered. "I feel like I can do this. But I don't know what to do. It's like it's on the tip of my tongue, but I don't know how to trigger it. I just- I swear to god, it literally makes me want to scream." She walked away from us a few steps.

"Okay, then scream. Lydia, scream," Stiles commanded after a moment of silence.

She took a deep breath and all of a sudden, my hands were clapping themselves over my ears to block out her high-pitched wail. It took a few seconds for her to stop, and when she did, a loud ringing sounded in my eardrums. I shared a look with my two best friends as Lydia looked up at the streetlight.

"It's not flies," Lydia understood finally, whirling around to face us. "It's electricity."

"Wait a second, Barrow was an electrical engineer," Stiles waved his hand in the air. "He worked at a power substation."

"What substation?" Scott prodded desperately.

"The only one in town," I replied knowingly. "It's on the other side of town, but we can make it."

Scott hopped onto his bike while the three of us scurried into Stiles' jeep. He sped down the street, weaving through the streets so fast I might've gotten whiplash. I called Stiles' dad while I was at it, telling him where he had to meet us.

Soon, we pulled into the substation and I got out with Stiles, tossing him his bat as we did so. Lydia stuck her head out of the passenger's side window.

"Stay here and wait for the cops," Stiles commanded.

"What? Why?"

"I only have one bat," he responded, holding up the weapon.

Then, we rushed into the station. Stiles soon got too far away from me for me to see him, so I just followed in his general direction, turning corners and weaving through pipes. Moonlight poured in from the large windows to my right and suddenly, the warehouse burst into sparks.

I tripped as the ground shook and I saw a wire swing towards me. I rolled to the side, but the sparks grazed my leg, sending a shockwave up and down my spine. I convulsed in pain, pressing my forehead to the concrete floor as my jaw clenched.

Then, blackness.

* * *

When I came to, someone was shaking me and calling out my name. I felt the cool air blow past my body and I guessed I had been taken outside.

"-rina!" Stiles' voice registered in my head. "Wake up! C'mon!"

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open slowly, blurry as I tried to make out his face. My head was in his lap and he was grasping my arms tightly.

"Oh thank god," he whispered, pressing his lips to mine before pulling away.

"What happened?" I croaked, lifting my head. He helped me sit up and I saw the sheriff along with Scott, Kira, and Lydia standing a few feet away.

"We'll explain later," Stiles told me softly. "But Barrow's dead and Scott's dad wants to ask us some questions."

"Seriously?" I swallowed thickly. "Okay, just give me a second."

They all nodded in understanding and I rubbed my leg cautiously, wincing as I brushed past the part that the sparks had touched. It wasn't burned very badly. First degree at most, thankfully.

I then rolled my neck around to crack it and breathed in before trying to stand. Stiles grasped my waist as a support system and I was able to get onto my feet, albeit shakily.

"You alright?" Scott asked as I slowly walked over to them.

"I will be, it's just sore," I replied, though the pain was somewhat worse than I let on. It still felt like the shock was present as my body shook, but I knew it wasn't really there.

"If you need to go to a hospital, you tell me, alright? Supernatural being or not, getting electrocuted is serious," the sheriff brandished a finger at me warningly and I smiled lightly, nodding, though I was confused.

My Oracle abilities didn't include healing, but the electrocution hadn't killed me or even fatally injured me. I shrugged it off, accepting the fact that the shock just wasn't as bad as it could've been. But then the voice spoke and it felt like the world collapsed from under me.

_Your time is ticking, Oracle. You should hope that your little boyfriend isn't as weak as he looks. The longer you keep me out, the more he suffers. Remember that._

* * *

**AN: _So like I said, no hiatus YET, and maybe not ever but you never know. School sucks, majorly. So bad. SOSOSOSO bad. _**

**_Ya'll should check out my tumblr, too btw. It's: _sstuhlinski **

**_Thank you all for the massive support and love you've been giving me. It warms my heart and it's partially the reason why I decided against the hiatus, so yeah. Keep that up._**

**_Feelings about the chapter?_**

**_xx._**


	5. Five

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch in the sheriff's office. Agent McCall was sitting on top of the desk while Stiles' dad sat in his chair behind it.

"So when did you guys get there?" the agent asked.

"At the same time," Stiles replied from beside me.

"At the same time as who?"

"At the same time as me," Scott answered as the two of us pointed at him.

"By coincidence?"

"What do you mean _by coincidence_?" I inquired, subconsciously rubbing the burn on my thigh.

"That's what I'm asking you. The three of you arrived at the exact same time," McCall explained. Stiles and I shared a confused glance.

"Is he asking me?" he wondered aloud.

"No, I think he's asking me," Scott said back.

"Actually, he might me asking me," I added.

"I think he's asking all three of you," Lydia pitched in slowly.

"Okay, let me answer the questions," the agent said and I snorted. He sighed and corrected himself. "Let me ask the questions." Stiles pointed over at him and winked smugly.

"Just so I have this absolutely clear," he flipped open a notepad, "Barrow was hiding in the chemistry classroom at the school. Someone had left him a coded message on the blackboard telling him to kill Kira," he read off and I turned my head to Kira, sending her a tight smile. "And then Barrow took Kira to a power substation and tied her up with the intent of electrocuting her. Which blacked out the entire town."

"Sounds about right," Stiles and I nodded in confirmation.

"How'd you know he was going to be at the power station?" he interrogated.

"Well, he was an electrical engineer."

"How did you know he'd be at the substation?"

"Where else would he take her?" Stiles scratched his head.

"That's one hell of deduction there, Stiles."

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I take after my pops. He's in law enforcement," he winked at his father with a tiny grin. The sheriff chuckled, but pretended to clear his throat as the agent looked back at him.

"Stiles, just uh, just answer the man," the sheriff said.

"We made me a good guess," Stiles replied finally, sharing a knowing smirk with me as the agent continued his line of questioning.

"What were the two of you doing?" he asked his son and Kira.

"Eating pizza," Scott spoke up as Kira overlapped him saying, "Eating sushi."

They shared a look and tried again, only to switch up their food choices.

"Eating sushi and pizza," they replied in unison after a few seconds.

"You believe this?" McCall turned to the sheriff.

"To be honest, I haven't believed a word Stiles has said since he could speak, but I think these kids found themselves at the right place at the right time and that girl sitting there is very lucky for it," he responded vaguely.

"But didn't Zarina get electrocuted?" the agent looked at me pointedly and I blanched. "Why aren't you in the hospital?"

"Maybe I don't need to go," I shot back defensively. "I feel fine, so the shock must've missed my heart and brain. Honestly I don't remember."

"You don't remember?" McCall repeated.

"Yeah, well, must've forgot when I passed out. Because of the electricity. In my body," I said this slowly, as if talking to a third grader.

"Kira, is that how you remember it?"

We all leaned towards her as she hesitated, looking frantically at Scott.

"Yes," she nodded, "Can I get my phone back now?"

"Sorry, but no," the agent shook his head. "It's evidence."

"We should let these kids go home. It's late," Stiles' dad said after an awkward silence. The FBI agent nodded and everyone filed out of the room.

* * *

Stiles led me outside the station and turned to me as the double doors behind us shut. I bit my lip as I waited for him to start talking.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" Stiles asked, surprising me. I thought he was going to ask me if I was okay. "I mean, with the power outage and all. I know you hate the dark."

"No, I'll manage on my own," I smiled lightly. "Besides, my brother should be back from work soon, so I won't be alone for long."

He pursed his lips and nodded before walking towards his jeep. I hopped into the passenger's seat and he drove in silence. I knew something was up.

"Okay, what's wrong?" I swiveled my head towards him. His eyes were glued to the road, but I saw his jaw clench.

"Nothing," he replied curtly.

"Stop lying," I scoffed.

"Just leave it alone," he barked out harshly and I flinched. He'd never talked to me like that before and now that he had, it scared me. From the corner of my eye, I saw him grimace in regret. "No, wait. I'm-"

"It's okay," I interrupted softly. "I'll just forget about it."

"Don't do that," he sighed out, stopping at a red light and turning to me.

"Do what?" I asked, not looking at him, but instead out the window.

"Act all submissive," Stiles replied. "Please, at least look at me."

I slowly turned my eyes to him and was met with his pleading expression. This was the longest red light ever.

"I'm not being submissive," I retorted.

"Yes, you are. You always are when you think I'm mad," he admitted, looking at his hands in shame.

"Maybe if you told me what was wrong, I wouldn't have to be submissive," I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I almost lost you tonight, okay?" he confessed. "I saw you looking so- so lifeless when I knew I could've protected you. It finally hit me how fragile you are. And that scares me. Because I'm not a werewolf. I can't be there at your side and fight off everything that hurts you. I hate it, but it's true."

I licked my lips and lifted his chin up with my finger so he'd look at me. His eyes were shining with unshed tears and I felt my heart break.

"You're right. You're not a werewolf," I told him and his face fell further, but I continued. "But you know what? You're Stiles. Nerdy, hyperactive, _human_ Stiles. And that's all I need you to be. It's all I want."

"I love you, you know that?" he told me after a second of silence. I laughed softly and nodded.

"You might have told me once or twice," I teased.

The light turned green and I poked his side, signaling him to start driving. Once we reached my house, I gave him a chaste kiss and rushed into my house, shutting and locking the door behind me when I saw my brother's car in the driveway. The inside of the house was completely dark, save for a dim light in the kitchen.

"Hey, Alex!" I greeted, walking into the kitchen. He sat at the table, reading a newspaper in front of a candle.

"Why are you limping?" he eyed me from over the paper and I stopped in my tracks. I didn't even realize.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I replied honestly. "It has to do with the supernatural stuff we talked about before."

"You're still on that?" he groaned, setting the paper down. "I thought we were done with this game."

"Alex, you- I- we-" I stumbled on my own words, trying to find something to say through my disbelief. Then I threw my arms into the air and sighed loudly. "Okay, whatever. If the creepy dreams and drawings weren't enough to convince you, I give up."

"About that," Alex started. "You said you were hearing voices, too?"

"Uh, if you'll believe that, then yes. I have, actually," I raised an eyebrow and he seemed to pale, as if coming to a revelation. "Does that mean something?"

"Uh, no!" he answered, too quickly. "I mean, of course not. I was just wondering. Trying to connect all the information you've given me."

I backed out of the kitchen slowly, slightly disturbed by his weird behavior. "Well, okay. I'm just gonna sleep…goodnight."

"Y-Yeah, night."

I turned on my heel and went up the steps slowly, cringing each time my thigh brushed against my jeans. I lit a candle in my room and grabbed some clothes before getting into the bathroom, using my phone as a flashlight.

Once seated by the bathtub, I peeled off my jeans and inspected my injury. There was a bright red burn half the size of my palm on the side of my leg. I grabbed some burn treatment from the cabinet and gently applied it before wrapping it in a bandage.

Once I finished with everything, I trudged into my room and plopped onto my bed. Everything and anything was buzzing around in my mind. Still, despite it all, I slowly felt myself fall asleep.

* * *

"Class starts in five minutes!" Coach yelled into his megaphone. I cringed and Stiles chuckled as he rifled through his locker. "Just because there's no power, don't expect there to be no school!"

"Hey, that was a triple negative," Stiles called out after Finstock, winking. "Very impressive, Coach."

"Copy that," he responded in a low voice through the megaphone and I made a face.

Stiles pulled out another book from his locker, causing his keys to fall to the floor. I picked them up and handed them to him.

"Thank you…" he trailed of as he looked at a specific key on the chain. "Hello, where did you come from?"

I looked down at the key with him, our foreheads almost touching and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What's this key for?" I questioned and he shrugged.

"I have no idea."

Then, we saw Scott come through the doors and we waved to him, but his eyes locked on Kira. He started walking over to her determinedly and we caught him, not letting him pass us.

"No, no. Stop it," Stiles hissed.

"What? I need to talk to her," Scott pleaded.

"Yeah, no. Someone left a coded message telling Barrow to kill her," I insisted, dropping my arm from his chest.

"Which is why I need to talk to her," he insisted.

"Scott, no way," Stiles grabbed his shoulder firmly. "Until we figure out if she's just another psychotic monster that's going to start murdering everybody, I vote against any and all interaction." His arms flailed around as he talked.

"What if she's like me?" Scott suggested quietly.

"That girl walked through one point twenty-one jigawatts of electricity," I deadpanned, looking at Kira as she retreated.

"She's not like you," Stiles finished.

Finstock's ever-annoying whistle sounded, signaling the start of class. Scott leaned his head back as he walked away from us. Stiles slammed his locker closed and looked back at the key in his hand.

My eyes drifted down the hall. From between the bodies of the student body moving in the long corridor, I saw the gauze-covered face of my tormentor. It seemed to be looking directly at Stiles and I felt my heart drop. I blinked harshly and, when I opened my eyes, it was gone.

* * *

Later that night, I found myself sitting with Stiles in his jeep in the parking lot behind the police station. We were waiting for Scott and Kira because apparently, she really needed her phone back. Something about nudes.

Soon, Scott's bike pulled up next to us and they both walked up to Stiles' open window as he fidgeted with the cards in his hands.

"Okay, this one will get you into all of the perimeter doors, this one into the evidence room, and this one's for my father's office," he listed off, handing each one to Scott.

"You didn't steal these, did you?" Scott asked nervously. Stiles and I looked at each other. We'd spent the hours after school making these cards. Illegally, probably.

"No," we said simultaneously.

"We cloned them using an RFID emulator," Stiles clarified.

"Is that worse than stealing?" Scott continued.

"Smarter," Stiles shrugged and Kira bit her lip before tugging on Scott's sleeve.

"Scott, can I ask you something?" she dragged him away from us.

"What the- okay, we'll just…" I called out lamely and we sat in silence until they returned.

"Okay, so almost everybody's out dealing with the blackout," Stiles told them. "But there's always somebody at the front desk. There's dispatch and usually a night shifter or two. You guys are gonna use the service door entrance by the dumpster, alright? Nobody uses it." The pair nodded.

"I'll text you if anyone comes out, but Scott, if you get caught, Stiles or even I can't help you," I warned him. "His dad's under investigation for impeachment because of yours, so, if anything happens, we will run and leave you both for dead."

"Got it. Thanks guys, seriously," Scott said, nodding.

"I'd ask my dad, but you know…" Stiles trailed off.

"No, I know. I get it."

"Alright, just, uh, hurry up," Stiles and I sat back in our seats as they followed his directions to the service door.

"This won't end well at all," I sighed out and Stiles nodded, agreeing.

"Definitely not. This is so not how I wanted to spend my Halloween," Stiles remarked bitterly.

"Yeah, I'd much rather be at Danny's party, to be completely honest," I admitted, shifting in my seat.

"Speaking of that, we should go when this is over."

"Is that your way of asking me on a date?"

"You're already my girlfriend," Stiles retorted. "Dates are overrated at this point."

"Huh, that's actually really true," I hummed.

"Oh no," Stiles mumbled as he looked out the front window. "This is bad."

Stiles' fingers flew across his screen as he texted Scott that his father was here and was going to find them if they didn't leave soon.

"Stiles we have to stop him," I said under my breath.

"God, I said I wouldn't do this," Stiles bounced in his seat and we exited the car. "I'm going to regret ever agreeing to this."

"Atta boy," I grinned as we rushed into the building, stopping Agent McCall just as he was about to open the door to the back office.

"Oh wow! Thank god, you're here! Oh boy," Stiles yelled and the agent looked back at us. We placed ourselves between him and the door so he couldn't get inside. "Thank the lord that you're here!"

"What he means by that is," I intervened. "we have something important to tell you."

"And what would that be?" the agent raised brow.

"I-I-we were just, uh, thinking about the case. Thought we should clue you in on our thinking. What we were thinking. We were thinking….we were thinking this," Stiles stuttered out, grasping for straws. "That Barrow, right, Barrow, received the information about who to kill at the school, right, you know that?"

I saw Scott glance between the blinds of the window and I shot him an urgent glance, gesturing frantically to his dad with my eyes. He nodded and disappeared from the window.

"Right, so we were thinking that whoever gave him that information, check this out, might actually be someone at the school," Stiles completed his thought.

"And that's, uh, my thinking. Our thinking." He wrapped an arm around my waist for emphasis and I grinned rightly.

"You two are right," McCall nodded slowly.

"We are?" I nudged Stiles with my hip, telling him to shut up.

"Yeah, we started looking for links between Barrow, the faculty, and students last night."

"So you already know that stuff. You already thought of that," Stiles nodded.

"Your dad did," the agent admitted after a few moments of hesitation. I vaguely wondered why the FBI agent hated the sheriff so much. What could've possibly happened to start this feud?

"His one useful suggestion," the agent felt the need to add, swiping his card into the slot near the door.

Stiles' grip on my waist tightened as my jaw clenched in anger. The ways I wanted to kill this man were infinite at this point. Stiles stepped to the side to block the agent's way, pulling me with him as he did so.

"You know, this attitude, that you have toward my dad?" Stiles started darkly and I looked up at him in surprise, but he continued.

"You can dress it up to all the professional disapproval that you want. But I know the real reason why you don't like him." The agent just stared down at him, clearly a little scared at his change in demeanor.

"Is that so?" McCall asked.

"Yeah, because he knows something you don't want him to know," he lowered his voice to a whisper and I felt goose bumps rise on the spot where Stiles gripped my hip. "And guess what? I know it, too."

"Go home, you two," the agent gulped. "There's a- there's a curfew."

But Stiles didn't move, therefore neither did I. This forced the agent to have to moved around us before entering the room with a quiet click as he shut the door. I rubbed Stiles' hand on my waist comfortingly, still freaked out by his display.

Wordlessly, he dropped his arm from around me and placed his hand in mine, leading me back towards his jeep. Scott and Kira met us there, breathing hard.

"We did it. All the pics deleted," Scott informed us.

"That was awesome!" Kira screeched. I pursed my lips. "I mean, terrifying. Completely terrifying…but kind of awesome." She laughed excitedly. "I've never done anything like that before. Have you?" The three of us looked at each other.

"Yeah, once or twice," Stiles mused and Kira hummed in approval.

"So, I guess I should take you home," Scott offered and Kira nodded, but I had other plans.

"Wait, guys, it's Halloween. Why don't we go to a party?"

* * *

The four of us slid open the door to Derek's loft and were greeted by glowing bodies and loud, ear damaging music. We stepped inside and I shrugged off my sweatshirt, leaving me in my tank top.

"Why is your key glowing?" Scott glanced down at the key in Stiles' hand.

"I'm not sure, I've been trying to figure that out all day," he yelled over the music as we walked further into the crowd of people. "It just showed up on my key ring this morning. I asked my dad if he put it there, but he didn't know anything about it."

"It's just a key though, right?" Scott prodded.

"Yeah, but it's not mine and I don't know how it got there or what it's for," Stiles replied.

"You want to leave so you can figure it out?"

I rolled my eyes at the fact that they were still all business at a party. I took Stiles' hand in mine and smirked, blinking up at him.

"Nope, not tonight. You're mine," I bit my lip and he swallowed, looking back at Scott.

"It can wait," he patted our friend on the shoulder before I dragged him of to the paint table. I immediately grabbed a brush and dipped it in paint.

"You better not try anything funny," Stiles said warningly.

"Aw, I wouldn't do that. Sober," I giggled and started painting the revealed part of his neck.

He shivered under the cold paint and I focused on what I was painting, not failing to notice his loving gaze on me the entire time. With a few final strokes, I put the paintbrush back on the table in content.

"Done," I smiled up at him and he looked into the mirror nearby.

"Wow," he whistled. I giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling him with me to the dance floor.

Our hands were interlocked at our sides as he twisted and twirled me around, the smile never leaving my face. We swayed to the fast tempo, arms flailing around wildly.

I grinned as he started to do some entirely screwed up version of the sprinkler. I didn't even mind how stupid it looked, either. Being with him was more than I could've asked for.

After a few songs, we moved to a vacant wall in the loft, catching our breaths. Our hands were connected and I looked up at him just to find him already staring down at me.

Without hesitation, I snaked my arms around his neck and got onto my toes, kissing him fiercely. He returned it with equal fervor, the two of us getting lost in each other. I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist, his hands keeping me up as my back hit the wall.

I pulled away slightly to catch my breath and he let me, our foreheads connected as we smiled at each other. My eyes fell down to his key ring and I finally caught a glimpse of the glow.

"You have phosphorus on your keys," I pointed out, but he ignored it, kissing me deeply. Just as my eyes closed, he pulled away, realization striking his face.

"What's phosphorus?"

I maneuvered my hand around my leg as I took the key from his pocket, showing it to him. "It's what makes it glow. Like a glow stick or the paint on everyone in here. The UV light makes it glow."

Stiles thought about this for a second before capturing me in a kiss again, sighing into it. But then he pulled away, talking as he did so.

"How would it get on my keys though?" he wondered aloud. I sighed and unwrapped my legs from his waist, setting myself on the ground. I fiddled with the keys in one hand.

"It could've gotten on from paint, or even chemicals," I informed him. That seemed to trigger a thought in his brain because he got this faraway look in his eyes. "Stiles?"

He took his keys from me gently and stuffed them into his pocket. "Look, I really have to go. God, I hate this so much." He glanced at me guiltily and I tapped my foot on the floor. "I-I have to go. I'm sorry. Just, stay here."

He started to walk away, but I caught up to him, following him closely. "Nope, I'm coming. Whether you want me to or not."

Stiles rolled his eyes, as if expecting this, but didn't protest. We hopped into his car and soon we were speeding off towards the school. I didn't question him as we broke in through the front doors, the sun rising behind us. We raced up the stairs and burst into the chemistry room.

Uneasily, I watched as he inserted his new key into the chemistry closet. It was a perfect fit. He turned it to the side and it clicked as it unlocked.

I looked over at him, but he refused to meet my eyes. He turned on his heel and walked toward the chalkboard, where the coded message for Kira was still written.

I stepped up next to him just as he finished rewriting the final number. I stared at the board, confused, but finally noticed it. The numbers were written similarly. Too similarly. Almost as if he'd written them himself.

With one look at his completely hopeless expression, I knew that he had. I pulled him into a hug, arms draped around his waist tightly. Stiles buried his head into my shoulder as his breathing turned into choked sobs.

I couldn't help but look back at the numbers. It was clear that he had no idea when he'd done this, so how was this possible? But then I pictured the monster that'd invaded my mind and I felt dread build in my stomach.

Whatever it was, it'd moved its sights from me to Stiles. And I was too late to stop it.

* * *

**AN: _Just gonna let ya'll know right now that I won't be able to update until Sunday! AHHHGHGGH. It's so frustrating. I have a two day volleyball tournament 3 hours away from my house, so I may or may not have access to internet, but if I ever do, I'll be sure to try and update._**

**_For some reason I feel like this chapter sucked majorly, maybe cause I'm like half asleep as I type this, but yeknow. The thought that counts. I think that's how it goes lol._**

**_Anyways! Thanks for all the support and love. Please try to continue that if I'm not completely failing at this story. Love you all soo sosososo much. Four for all of you. _**

**_Tumblr: sstuhlinski (might start adding this to AN's now cause idk why not lol ily)_**

**_xx._**


	6. Six

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

"Everything's going to be okay," I told Stiles as he leaned his forehead against his locker tiredly.

"I told Barrow to murder an innocent person. I'm sure that qualifies as definitely _not_ okay," he murmured, closing his eyes tightly.

"Hey, look at me," I ordered and he did so, eyes glazed over in fear. "Whatever happens, I will be right here; next to you."

"You're just gonna get hurt," he told me honestly.

"If it's for you, it's worth it," I smiled tightly and Stiles shook his head with a long sigh.

"God, why don't you get it? If you get hurt, because of me or not, I will never forgive myself. I don't give a shit if you think it's honorable to do that for me. It's not, okay? It's selfish and it doesn't just hurt you. It hurts everyone that cares about you."

I stayed silent, eyes flickering to my feet in guilt. The first priority in my mind at the time was Stiles. Whatever he was going through, it was my fault. I didn't let that monster in and now he had to suffer for it. The shame was eating me alive.

"Just promise me you won't do something reckless for my sake," his voice softened as he lifted my chin with his hand.

"I can't make a promise I can't keep," I admitted quietly.

"Then at least be safe, if anything, be safe."

"Okay," I nodded slowly and his hand moved from my chin to my cheek.

I saw Scott approaching us from the corner of my eye and I moved his hand from my face and intertwined our fingers, pointing at our friend. We hurried up to him and the three of us started walking down the hall.

"Something happened last night," Stiles spoke rapidly. "Something bad."

"Yeah, same here," Scott agreed, but the two of us sent him an urgent look.

"No, Scott, you need to hear this first," I persisted.

"L-Look, when we were at the black light party last night, Zarina saw something on my key," Stiles explained, pulling us into the chemistry room. "The light from the party made phosphorus show up on my key."

"Phosphorus is what make things glow in the dark. Like the paint everyone had on during the party," I clarified.

"It reminded me of something. It made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had let Barrow into the school, right?" Stiles continued, dropping his bag on a lab table.

He looked up at the blackboard and I followed his eyes, expecting to see the numbers from earlier, but they weren't there. The entire board was swiped clean. "It's gone. Okay, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I still have the key."

He pushed past Scott and I, key ring in hand as he prepared to open the closet, but stopped. The key wasn't there, either. "What the hell? I had…I-I had it here, just this morning. I swear, I had it this morning."

"The key you were talking about last night?" Scott asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show it to you?" He looked up pleadingly.

"No, you just told me about it. I never actually saw it."

Stiles' breathing hitched and I gripped his face between my hands softly, thumbs stroking his cheek. "Hey, hey, shhh. I was there. Remember? I saw it all happen." I looked over my shoulder at Scott. "I did. I saw it all. You have to believe him."

But Stiles wasn't listening to me. He moved away from my grasp and returned to the front of the board, Scott and I behind him, sharing worried looks. His eyes were searching the board continuously, as if the numbers would magically reappear there. They never did.

"We were here a couple of hours ago. And the message left to Barrow that spelled Kira's name was right there on the board in my handwriting and I had the key to the chemistry closet," he informed Scott weakly.

"So, you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops?" Scott summed up slowly. "And then you wrote a message to him to kill Kira?"

"I know how it sounds…" Stiles shook his head and pulled a paper out of his pocket. "But this is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him. About the shrapnel bomb he used. See this? See what he did? He put nuts, bolts, and screws and then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box he wrapped as a birthday present."

He hadn't told me about this part, though the trick seemed familiar. "What does that sound like to you?"

"Coach," Scott realized. "The joke we played on coach."

"You put all the screws into a birthday present," I said softly, scared.

"That was my idea. You remember? That was my idea," his voice was panicked. "That's no coincidence. It can't be."

Scott was reluctant to say his next words. "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you you're wrong, but I don't think you're trying to kill people, either."

Stiles crumpled the paper in his hand in frustration. "It was here. It was all here."

"Dude, are you feeling okay? You're looking really tired."

"I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping really," he took a deep breath as he looked at us.

"Why don't you go home? Take a sick day or something?" he patted his arm and Stiles nodded, eyes still glued to the board. I looked between the two.

"I'll take him home," I announced after a beat of silence. The boys' eyes shot to me and I shrugged, looking straight at Stiles. "I'm not about to let you drive when you haven't slept in who knows how long."

He smiled gratefully and we gave Scott a wave before heading towards his car. I motioned for him to give me his keys and he did so as we slid into the jeep. I put the key into the ignition and turned it, letting the rev of the engine fill the silence.

I had barely just start driving when he stopped me. "Wait, don't go to my house. Go to the hospital."

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, puzzled, but said nothing as I took the next right turn onto the road towards our new destination.

* * *

As I pulled up to the hospital and unbuckled my seatbelt, I noticed that Stiles hadn't moved an inch. I gently put my hand on his arm and he flinched.

"We're here," I told him softly. He nodded and we exited the car, heading into the hospital.

We approached the desk to, thankfully, see Melissa. She looked up at us in surprise and I waited for Stiles to talk, but he didn't.

"We need to speak to a doctor about something," I informed her. "It's kind of important." I looked to the side as Stiles' hands twisted together in anxiety.

"Of course. Let me just check who's in right now," Melissa smiled at us and swiveled her chair towards her computer. "Dr. Gardener is out of town until next week. Do you want to try waiting for one of the urgent care doctors?"

She looked up at Stiles worriedly as he stumbled backward and his breathing went harsh. "Stiles, are you alright?"

"I-I don't know," he stuttered out and Melissa went towards us as I rubbed his hand in both of mine. "I guess. Not- not really."

"Can you at least make sure he's okay?" I begged her.

"Definitely, sweetheart. Come on, you two," she grabbed Stiles' arm gently and I followed them inside, sitting onto the hospital bed with Stiles.

"What are your symptoms?" she asked, looming over his file on a table nearby.

"Blackouts, but not for that long. Sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot when I was a kid," he trailed off, licking his lips. "Um- I've also been having some really bad anxiety."

"Panic attacks?" the nurse glanced at him.

I kissed his shoulder and he looked down at me, catching my reassuring nod. "Y-Yeah, a couple," he finally replied. "Oh and I temporarily lost the ability to read, but that might have something to do with the giant magic tree and the whole human sacrifice thing."

Melissa chuckled and I bit back a grin. "I recall something vaguely about that, yes. How many hours of sleep are you getting?"

"Eight."

"A night?"

"In the last three days." The two of us blanched in surprise.

I looked down at his hands and saw he was counting off his fingers. I immediately grabbed his hands in mine and stopped him.

"This is real," I whispered. He stopped, but I could see his eyes glide across my own hands, counting my fingers instead. I let him.

"Yeah, definitely eight," he confirmed as Melissa walked over to a cabinet.

"Have you been feeling irritated?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Possibly to the point of homicide."

"Inability to focus?"

"No, the Adderall's not working."

"Impulsive behavior?" her eyes moved to him and he shrugged.

"More than my usual? Hard to tell."

"Vivid dreams during the day?" she asked finally, pulling gloves on.

"Basically all of the above," he agreed.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" I piped up, curious.

Melissa smiled at me and walked over to the bed, needle in hand. "I think so."

"Um, what's that?" Stiles asked nervously, glancing at the needle.

"Do you trust me?"

"When you're not holding a needle," he confessed through a chuckle.

"It's Midazolam," she clarified, cleaning his skin with alcohol. Understanding her plan, I got up from the bed and stood beside the bed. "A sedative." I watched as she injected the liquid into his arm.

"Wh-why are you giving me a sedative?" Stiles questioned frantically, looking up at me for reassurance. Melissa calmed him down by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Because you, Stiles, are one severely sleep deprived young man. You need rest and you need it now," she informed him, helping him lay down into the bed.

"How long does it take to- oh, not long at all." I could see his eyes droop as his head fell onto the pillow heavily, the effects of the sedative taking their course in his body.

I sat down in the chair beside the bed and gripped his hand as he drifted to sleep.

"You staying?" he whispered tiredly.

"Always," I replied, squeezing his hand.

"Get some rest," Melissa instructed him, brushing hair from his forehead.

"Thanks, mom," Stiles shifted his head on the pillow.

Melissa looked down at him, astonished, but her mouth slowly grew into a warm smile as his breathing evened out. I felt my heart grow warm. Their relationship was amazing.

"I'll be out there if you need anything," she assured me before leaving the room, the door shutting softly behind her.

* * *

I slowly woke up when I heard Stiles groan. His eyes fluttered open slightly and he coughed as his head shifted on the pillow. I sat up straighter in my chair and tightened my grip on his hand.

"You're still here," he croaked, voice husky with sleep.

"Told you I wasn't going anywhere," I grinned lightly. "But you should go back to sleep. You still look tired."

"Are you sure?" he asked, but I knew he was going to fall asleep anyways.

"Yes, now hush. I'll still be here when you wake up again," I promised.

Not too long afterwards, his eyes were shut and his breathing was soft. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I put it to my ear after pressing 'answer'.

"Scott?" I greeted, seeing the caller I.D.

"Hey, you two doing okay?" he responded worriedly.

"Mhm," I hummed in confirmation. "Your mom just put Stiles on a sedative. Said he needed some sleep."

"Ah. Good," he sounded like something was bothering him.

"Are _you_ doing alright?" I inquired, biting my lip.

"Um, yeah, but you never got to hear what I had to tell you this morning," he began. I stayed quiet as he embarked on his story of demonic ninjas and weird markings behind people's ears.

"So Allison, Isaac, and her dad are trying to figure out what they want from us? And you think they're after you?" I summed up.

"Basically," Scott replied.

"Wow, okay, that's, uh- a lot to take in," I gulped. But then I froze.

_Zarina._

I took the phone off my ear and stared at it. Scott was still on the line.

"Did you just call my name?" I asked him.

"No," he responded slowly. "Maybe it was your brother? Is he working tonight?"

"Yeah, maybe," I lied unconvincingly.

_Zarina._

"I'll call you if anything happens. I gotta go," I said quickly, then hung up.

I stuffed the phone into my pocket and let go of Stiles' hand reluctantly, turning to leave the room. He stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake as I exited through the door carefully.

I quietly trekked through the hallways, the voice calling my name getting louder and louder as I walked further. I pushed open a set of double doors. I stepped into the room quietly, glancing at the grey walls.

_Have you made your decision?_

My whole body whipped around to face behind me, but nothing was there. I turned in slow circles, but still, no one was with me.

_You know, we are very impatient. We have tricks to play and people to fool. If you let us in now, everything will be so much easier._

_"_What are you talking about?" I called out.

_If we told you, that'd ruin all the fun. Ah, looks like they're coming right now. _

"Wait, no, what do you mean?"

I gasped as a figure stepped out of the shadows, making its way towards me. It was the ninja thing Scott had described to me earlier on the phone. I backed up towards the door, only to see two more of them behind me.

The one in front of me inched closer and closer until I was at arm's length. My blood ran cold and I couldn't move as its hand rested on my cheek, thumb behind my ear. Its head tilted as its eyes glowed bright green and I found my head tilting with it.

"Zarina?" I heard Stiles enter the room. "What is that? What are you doing to her?"

My entire body went numb as I fell to the ground, shivering violently. Its eyes were burned into my memory and I couldn't speak or move or even make out a comprehensible thought. Stiles tried to rush up to me, but the three dark figures interrupted, surrounding him.

The one that had gotten me tried to perform the same task on him, but before its hand could make contact with Stiles' face, he grabbed it with his own, grip tight.

Stiles looked at the hand, body shaking in anger. He then looked up at the demonic figure, a small smirk adorning his face. His eyes were lifeless, as if no feeling were making it to the surface.

The last thing I saw before falling into a cold, numb darkness was Stiles' hand reaching into the ninja's chest, green lights erupting from the hole.

_Time's up._

* * *

When my eyes opened again, I was in my bed. I blinked sleepily and saw Alex lingering by the door, watching me as I woke. His face was twisted in concern.

"What happened?" I asked slowly, remembering what'd happened at the hospital with the demon ninjas.

"Scott and Stiles brought you back from the hospital," Alex explained. "Said you were watching Stiles while he rested and fell asleep."

I silently thanked them for lying. If Alex heard about what happened, he'd think we were all crazy.

"Yeah, well," I shrugged nonchalantly. "Just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Actually, you know what? Funny thing is, I don't recall you ever getting a tattoo behind your ear," Alex went straight to the point and I tensed. I felt behind the ear the demonic ninja had touched and rubbed the spot gently. "Want to explain that? I saw it when I put you in bed earlier."

"Must've been the boys," I laughed nervously. "Playing pranks on me while I sleep. They think they're funny."

"Stop lying to me. Just stop," he shot at me and I winced. "I'm done with these lies."

"What else do you want me to say? You won't believe the truth. You won't believe me when I say that everything I've told you so far is real. The only thing I can tell you, that you'll believe, are lies!" I argued hotly.

"That's because the things you're saying are ridiculous!" he yelled. "You're not okay. Not since a few weeks ago."

"Great observation," I scoffed.

"No, I mean, there's something wrong with you," he clarified. "You're having bad dreams, blackouts, insomnia, hallucinations, and you're hearing voices. Zarina, do you know what those are all symptoms of?"

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I was filled with so much anger and betrayal that he thought that this was all because I had a mental problem.

"Schizophrenia," he finished. "Okay? All of these are signs of schizophrenia."

"I'm not schizophrenic," I retorted. "All the things I'm going through are all because of what or who or whatever the hell it is I am. If you would just listen to me for once, you'd see that. Not everything is a clinical problem. Not everything can be fixed with prescription medicine or a diagnosis."

"You're right, not everything can be fixed like that. But your condition is one of the things that can," he said simply.

"Stop that! Stop implying that I'm insane!" I cried out, tears building in my eyes.

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to." Silence. "You know what? I need to be left alone. Come back when this theory about me being schizophrenic blows over. I can't deal with this right now."

"I just want to help you," he told me softly.

"You can't help. Not if you're gonna blame all this on a mental condition I don't have," I shook my head sadly. "All I want is for you to believe me. These voices aren't in my head. They're real. They have Stiles now. He's not going to be my Stiles for much longer and it's all my fault. Alex, I need you now more than ever. I can't do this alone."

"I want to believe you, but this is just- I can't listen to this," Alex backed out of the door and closed it.

Then I broke down. I curled up into a ball on my bed and sobbed. The heavy weight of guilt pushed down on my shoulders and I couldn't hold it up any longer. I must've been in that position for hours, but one sentence in particular never stopped leaving my lips like a mantra.

**"I'm sorry, Stiles."**

* * *

**AN: _I'm baaaack! Hey, guys. I missed you. Got second place in our tournament! But still, twas' hard not having my laptop with me to write anything. Felt so empty and bored the entire trip. Sigh. But now I'm back and with this recent episode out, I have SO MANY IDEAS GUYS. SO MANY. MY MIND IS ABUNDANT WITH FUN AND SAD THINGS. AGH._** **_So excited._**

**_Thank you all for continuing the support, even when I was away. Seriously didn't expect so many people to be so patient and understand the situation. Look at ya'll, exceeding my expectations everyday._**

**_Please continue to support! It means a great deal to me, especially reviews. Help me know what I'm doing right and wrong.  
Tumblr: sstuhlinski _**

**_xx._**


	7. Seven

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

The room around me was bright white, pillars scattered around the space in an orderly fashion. I squinted as I glanced around the room, confused as to how or why I was there. I saw two figures standing together a few feet away from me.

I stepped forward to see who they were and as soon as I saw the familiar plaid and the gauze-covered head, I sprinted towards them.

"Stiles!" I cried out. "Get away from it!"

But he didn't turn or even show that he heard me at all. Instead, he continued to face the monster. Even though I was at full speed, I felt like I wasn't getting any closer to them at all. If anything, they were getting farther away. I stopped abruptly, hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

"You're too late," the gauzed head turned to me, teeth bared. "You had your chance, Oracle. Now, the boy is going to help us destroy all of you."

"Get away from him. Please!" I pleaded. "I'll let you in, all of you, just leave him alone."

"You cannot stop us once we've begun," it replied cryptically. "Stiles is ours now."

I screamed as it grabbed Stiles, twisting him around so his back was pushed against its chest. It wrapped its arm around his neck and held him in place, but Stiles didn't even struggle.

"Come find us," it taunted. And just like that, the two were gone.

I jolted awake in my bed, immediately pushing the covers off my body and shoving a sweatshirt over my pajamas before bolting out of the house carelessly, grabbing my brother's keys on the way out.

I ignored the goose bumps rising on my shorts-clad legs and started the car up, making my way down the street to Scott's house. I drove past the speeding limit, but a ticket was the last thing on my mind.

The car screeched to a stop in front of the McCall house and I used the key hidden inside the flowerpot to get in. I sprinted up the steps and as soon as I reached the top, I ran into Isaac's chest.

"Where's Scott? Wh-where is he? Isaac, tell me!" I was frantic and he placed his hands on my shoulder firmly.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Scott's in his room. What's wrong? Did Stiles call you too?" he asked.

"He called you?" I faltered, but then remembered why I was so panicked. "Wait, no he didn't call me, but I- we…we have to find him, okay? We have to."

"We will," he assured me, squeezing my shoulders. "But how did you know he was missing?"

I looked up at him seriously, mouth twisted into a frown. "Just a feeling. A really bad feeling."

Isaac looked skeptical, but he nodded as Scott emerged from his room, looking both tired and worried. I hurried over to him and he hugged me warmly.

"What are you doing here? Did you find out about Stiles?" Scott murmured into my hair. I nodded.

"Please tell me you know where to find him," I let go of him, voice hopeful.

"I'm sorry, I don't know yet. But we'll find him. I promise," he told me and I nodded slowly.

My body was shaking and it was just because of my cold legs. The fear of what could've happened to him was overwhelming. Then, my phone rang from my hoodie pocket and I hurriedly pulled it out. My thumb quivered as I answered it, seeing Stiles' name flash on the screen.

"Stiles? S-Stiles is that you?" I stuttered out.

"Z-Zarina? A-Are you with Scott? Did- did he call my dad?" his voice was shaking in fear and it sounded like he was crying. It was making me feel worse than I already did.

I glanced over my shoulder at Scott and he shook his head. "No, no. He didn't call your dad. We're going to find you, okay? Do you think you can describe where you are?"

"It's a basement," he sniffled. "I think it's some kind of basement."

"One in a house, or a building?"

"U-um, it's something industrial. It's bigger. I think there's a furnace, but it's cold. I-it's freezing down here," his voice started to shake more. "I gotta turn the…I gotta turn the phone off. It's gonna die."

"W-wait, no! Please, Stiles, don't hang up; just stay on the phone. I have to know you're okay!"

"T-the phone's dying. I can't talk, Zarina. I have to go. I'm sorry," he was whispering.

"Stiles…w-why are you whispering?" my body went rigid.

"Because I think there's someone in here with me," his voice cracked and he sounded like he was going to start crying again. "Just f-find me."

"I-I promise, just stay put. We'll be there soon, Scott and I will be there," I assured him quietly as I held back tears. He didn't say anything and soon, the phone went silent, signaling that he'd hung up.

Scott wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arm soothingly as I stood there, staring down at my phone wordlessly.

"We should start looking at Stiles' house. We can pick up a strong scent and work from there," he planned out and I nodded, blinking away the wetness in my eyes.

"I'll meet you guys there," I said simply before going down the stairs and getting into my brother's car.

I watched the two werewolves get onto Scott's bike before backing out of the driveway and heading straight for the Stilinski house. The entire drive, my hands gripped the wheel tightly, unable to push the guilt and worry out of my system.

* * *

Once I reached the house, my knuckles were white with exertion and I sat in the car for a lingering second. The revving of Scott's engine cut off my trepidation and I got out of the car, shaking the blood flow back into my hands.

The three of us burst into Stiles' room, but two people were already inside, inspecting the walls.

"What are you guys doing here? Did Stiles call you?" Scott asked them as we walked inside.

"I heard," Lydia informed us, eyes wide.

"Don't ask," Aiden added. "It gets more confusing when you ask."

"Not as confusing as this."

Lydia's eyes were locked on a pair of scissors stabbed into Stiles' bed, red yarn connected to the handles and leading towards different pictures on the wall. He must've done this to show he was technically connected to everything.

"He uses red for unsolved cases," I whispered, voice breaking. I bit my lip and looked away from the bed, unable to keep my eyes on it anymore.

"Maybe he thinks he's part of an unsolved case," Aiden offered.

"Or is an unsolved case," Isaac corrected, eyes darting around the walls.

"Hold on, is he still out there? You don't know where he is?" Lydia asked, appalled.

"We talked to him and he said he's in some basement. Scott and Isaac wanted a better scent before we going out to search for him," I explained.

"What else did he say?" Lydia questioned curiously.

"Something's wrong with his leg," Scott said. "It's bleeding."

My head snapped up to him, eyes narrow. "You never told me that. Scott, you never said he was hurt!"

"Tonight's the coldest night of the year," Aiden cut me off. "It's going to drop into the twenties."

"What did his dad say?" Lydia sighed.

"We kind of didn't tell him yet," Scott admitted. "He made me promise no to. We can find him by scent. If he was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gone far."

"Before I found out he was hurt, I would've agreed with you," I intervened. "But now that I know he's hurt and freezing, I don't think we can do this on our own. Scott, we need his dad's help. I know you promised not to ask, but we can't find Stiles alone."

"Wait, I can get more help. Derek, Allison," he listed off.

"Everyone except the cops. Great idea," Lydia scoffed.

"You guys do remember that she only gets these feelings when someone is about to die, right?" Aiden reminded us unhelpfully.

"He won't die!" I snapped.

The other occupants of the room looked at me in surprise. I ignored them as I twisted my hands together in agitation. Lydia pulled out her phone and started to dial the sheriff.

"Wait! You don't have to call his dad. It's five minutes to the station," Scott stopped her. The three of us went to leave the room.

"We'll catch up with you," Lydia's voice caused us to stop.

"Why? Is there more to this?" I asked, concerned.

"There's something here."

"Yeah," Isaac did another look around the room. "Evidence of total insanity."

I caught Scott's eye and the two of us shared a defeated look. Though, I couldn't keep eye contact for long. I knew what could be wrong with Stiles, but I didn't know if it was even real. I wasn't sure what was anymore.

* * *

I felt my heart clench as the sheriff's face contorted into terror and sadness with each second we spent explaining what happened to Stiles. I also didn't miss the way his grip on the table grew tighter and tighter as well. His eyes squeezed shut once we finished, composing himself.

"If his jeep is gone, that's where we start," he instructed and turned behind him to the deputy. "Parrish, let's get an APB on a blue 1980 CJ-5 Jeep. Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building he could've gotten into while sleepwalking."

He faced the rest of the officers. "It's the coldest night of the year so far. If he's out there barefoot, in just a t-shirt, he could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast. Let's think fast. The three of you, come with me," he finished, turning to us.

The four of us walked into his office and immediately he looked at us, door shutting behind him. "Okay, is there anything you need to tell me that you can't tell anybody out there?"

"Lydia and Zarina knew he was missing," Scott informed him.

"Well, can either of them help find him?"

"I'm trying to see if I can get an image of a possible location," I assured. "And Lydia's working on it right now."

"Anything else?"

"I called Derek and Allison for help," Scott said.

"Can you find him by scent?" the sheriff sighed out.

Parrish knocked on the door quickly before entering the room. "We got it, sir. We found the jeep. It's at the hospital. Only a few minutes away."

"Let's go," he nodded, relieved.

I followed the sheriff's car closely to the hospital and got out as soon as I parked, heading towards Stiles' jeep. The sheriff opened the door.

"It's dead," he announced. "He must've left the lights on."

"Why would he come here?" Scott questioned, puzzled.

"Maybe he had trouble sleeping again," I suggested weakly.

"Let's find out." The four of us rushed past the sliding doors and Melissa and my brother met us halfway.

"Security is doing sweep of every floor," Alex informed us, looking at me worriedly. I ignored him.

"Nothing yet," Melissa sighed.

"What about the basement?" the sheriff inquired.

"Follow us," Melissa and my brother led him around the corner. I watched them as they went, hoping he had at least left a sign of where he'd gone.

Scott grabbed my hand, pulling me up to the roof with him and Isaac. I kept up with his pace, slightly confused, but I didn't question it. Then, we found Derek observing the rooftop.

"He's not here," Derek said without even turning around. "Not anymore."

"You mean the whole building?" Scott asked.

"Gone."

"I'll go tell Stilinski," Isaac volunteered before rushing back down into the hospital.

Derek finally turned around and looked at me. "Are you going to be okay?"

"If we find him, I will be," I told him softly.

"_When_ we find him," he corrected firmly. "Because we will. Scott, did you notice how strong the scent is up here?" He looked over at the Alpha. "Have you ever heard of chemo signals?"

"Chemo signals communicate emotion," he replied slowly. "Like when we sweat, it'll give off out anger, pain, or fear."

"Exactly. Take a deep breath and tell me what you feel," Derek instructed. Scott closed his eyes and took in the air, feeling for the emotions.

"Stress," Scott said after a second.

"Anxiety."

"What was he doing up here?" I pursed my lips.

"I don't know, but there was definitely some kind of struggle," Derek admitted, eyes wandering around.

"But there's no one else's scent up here, Derek," Scott argued.

"I know. He was struggling with myself," Derek informed him. My stomach clenched uncomfortably, but I shoved it away. "We need to split up. You two go with Stiles' dad. You can use his scent to find him. I'm going to check the high school."

The two of us nodded and went towards the door, but I stopped and looked over my shoulder at the older werewolf.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "Be careful."

Without waiting for a response, I caught up with Scott in the stairwell and went with him to find the sheriff.

* * *

Once we found Stiles' dad, we told him about what we'd found out on the roof of the hospital and were going out to search for Stiles more. In the back of my mind, a familiar burning was present and I was able to see the image of a coyote's den. Malia's den. As soon as the image grew clearer in my head, I knew my abilities were kicking in.

"Lydia said she knows where Stiles is," Scott told me and the sheriff as we exited the hospital. "Something about Eichen House. We have to meet her there now."

"You two go," I told him unsurely. "There's something I have to check out. I might know where he is, but if Lydia's sure that he's at the institute, you two should go with her."

"But what if you're the one who's right?" the sheriff countered.

"If I'm right, I'll call you. We can't waste more time by blindly searching the first place I get a feeling about. There's a 50/50 chance that one of us will find him," I explained. "Plus, if something goes wrong, Lydia's going to need protection. I'll be okay."

"I don't know, Rina. You're never wrong about things like this," Scott replied, skeptical.

"And Lydia hasn't been to inaccurate, either," I argued. "Look, I swear I'll meet you there if I don't find anything. I just have to make sure."

"Alright. Good luck," Scott patted me on the shoulder and I nodded, giving the sheriff a tight smile before getting into my car and driving towards the woods.

As I drove, I silently prayed to anyone that I wasn't wrong this time. Or that at least Lydia was right and we'd find him soon. I parked my car at the entrance of the preserve and began walking through the trees, wracking my memory for the location of the den.

The trees thinned out as I entered the clearing where the den was located. I saw Melissa and Agent McCall already knelt down in front of the den and I ran towards them.

"Zarina? What are you doing here?" Melissa asked as I approached. The agent's head was inside the den opening and I bit my lip.

"I'm looking for Stiles. I had a, uh, a feeling," I put emphasis on the final word, implying that it was a supernatural feeling. She caught on and nodded, a small 'ah' escaping her lips.

"He's here!" the agent called out and in a flash, Melissa and I pushed him out of the way, looking into the cave. I felt my heart drop to my feet as I watched Stiles' shivering, unconscious form lay in the cave. His face was contorted in pain and fear, and I had a feeling I knew what or who was tormenting him.

The two of us each grabbed a leg and I nearly let go once his screaming began. He twisted and pulled at his body, hands trying to grip the floor to get away from us. Every muscle in his body tensed and he looked completely and absolutely terrified of whatever it was he thought we were.

"Wait! Wait! No! Wait!" he continued to yell as we finally got him out of the den. He kicked and struggled as Melissa pulled his back into her chest, cradling his body between her legs as he screamed, face red from lack of oxygen.

"Stiles! Stiles, baby, it's just us! Wake up!" I grabbed his wrists as I knelt in front of him, trying to get him to stop moving so much. I maneuvered my hands to his face and held him in place firmly, so he'd look at me. "Stiles! You're okay! Look at me. Do I look like I'm going to hurt you?"

Stiles finally stopped screaming and blinked, tears falling from his eyes. He looked around at the three of us tiredly as he finally came to the realization that he was just dreaming.

He leaned back into Melissa's warm embrace and she cooed soothing words into his ears as I kissed both of his ice-cold hands, trying to get warmth into them again.

Stiles looked up at me wide-eyed and I gave him a reassuring smile. His features seemed to relax once he convinced himself that he really was okay again.

I took out my phone and sent a quick message to Scott, relief bubbling in my chest.

**_We found him._**

* * *

My leg bounced as we sat in hospital chairs, waiting for the sheriff to come back with news on Stiles. Once he did, we all stood, anxious.

"He's sleeping now and he's just fine," the sheriff informed him and my stiff shoulders relaxed. "He doesn't remember much. It's been like a dream to him. Thank you." He turned to Agent McCall, who simply shrugged.

"It was that repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep the other animals out. I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing he mentioned it on the phone."

"No, it was more than that. Thank you," the sheriff insisted.

"It was a lucky connection."

"McCall, can you shut up and accept my sincerest gratitude?" he sighed in annoyance, but held his hand out for him.

The agent took it, giving it a firm shake. "Accepted."

"Alright, you three have school in less than six hours. Go home," Melissa hugged her son and I before shooing us away. "Go to sleep."

I smiled at the nurse thankfully and followed Scott and Lydia down the hall. I glanced over at Lydia, who looked ashamed of herself.

"I don't know what happened. I was so sure," she whispered.

"Yeah, I wasn't much help either. Doesn't matter. He's okay," Scott reassured her.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. This is new for all of us, so don't think you haven't helped. Because you have," I persisted.

She pulled her lips in, but nodded reluctantly as we continued to walk. However, she stopped mid-step, eyes narrow, as she seemed to hear something.

"Lydia, do you hear something?" Scott questioned.

"No. I didn't hear anything."

* * *

Somehow, I'd convinced my brother to let me skip school and spend the day at the hospital with Stiles. He didn't like the fact that I was missing more school, but he seemed to accept that I was worried and didn't push me to go somewhere I didn't want to.

And that was how I ended up sitting in a hospital chair for nearly five hours, watching my boyfriend rest. I didn't mind it at all. It was a step up from seeing him nearly dead in a coyote's den, even if the guilt of everything grew heavier each time I looked at him.

"Have you been here the whole day?" Stiles' croaky voice brought me out of my blanked out state and I nodded, smiling lightly as he sat up in his bed.

"Couldn't go anywhere else without you," I admitted, shrugging. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Kind of," he bit his lip. "It's just…what's wrong with me? I'm scared, Zarina, I'm so scared."

I felt tears prickle in my eyes and I looked away form him, regretful. "I know. So am I. Oh god, I'm sorry, Stiles."

"Why are you sorry? You haven't done anything," he said slowly.

"If only you knew," I muttered, but he didn't catch it, so I changed the subject. "It's nothing, just…do you know what they're planning to do? The doctors?"

"An MRI," he informed me weakly. "Th-they're looking for what she had. Said there's a chance I could have it, too."

I looked back up at him and met his fearful gaze. "You can do this. You are brave and strong and I'm sure that you can get through this. Scott and I will be right there for you when you need us, so don't be scared."

I reached up and wiped a stray tear off his face with my thumb, tracing his cheekbone with it once I finished. Stiles gave me a tiny smile, one full of gratitude and love and so many other emotions that I didn't know a smile that small could possess. The door burst open suddenly and I stood up from my chair as the sheriff walked in.

"Stiles needs to, uh, get ready," he said vaguely and I nodded, sending one last smile in his direction. "Scott should be out there already."

I shut the door behind me and met up with Scott, each of us unable to hide our worry and fear. The two of us waited for a few minutes silently until Stiles and his father emerged, leading us into the MRI room.

The room itself was very plain. Only containing the machine itself and a one sided mirror for the doctor to look into the room. Stiles sat on the edge of the machine, looking at his arm nervously.

"I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this or if it's not actually a misspelling," the doctor confessed to the sheriff.

"Just call him Stiles."

The doctor nodded and approached Stiles, papers in hand. "Stiles, just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. If you want, we can get you some earplugs or headphones."

"Oh, no. I don't need anything," Stiles responded politely.

The sheriff looked down at his son. "Hey, we're just on the other side of that window, okay?"

"Okay," Stiles smiled at Melissa and his dad, giving him a pat on the shoulder before they left the room with the specialist.

"You know what they're looking for right?" he began softly. "It's called frontotemporal dementia. Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers." I knew he'd memorized every single fact about this disease. It was Stiles. He had to. "There's no cure."

The tears already streamed down my cheeks as I looked at him sadly, my heart breaking into pieces. "I'd find one. Hell, I'd make one if I had to. Now matter how long it takes."

"If you have it, Stiles, we'll do something," Scott paused, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "I'll do something."

Stiles looked up at him, weak, but nodded as the tears gathered. Scott embraced him in a hug and I felt the tears fall faster as the two gripped each other with strength and love that only the two of them had for each other.

After a minute, Scott patted his back one more time and left the room, understanding that I needed a second alone with him. I walked closer to him and stood between his legs, head tilted downward so I could look into his eyes.

"I love you," my voice cracked with emotion. "So incredibly, incomprehensibly much."

"I love you too," he muttered. "Ever since we were kids and you told me not to eat sand, but I did anyways."

We grinned feebly at each other and I bit my lip as the tears came again. I pressed my lips to his and he returned the kiss. It was soft and chaste, but it held more emotion and feeling than any words could have at that moment.

With one last peck, I pulled away from him and headed towards the door, shutting it with a small 'click' behind me as I exited out the other side.

* * *

Scott's hand was held tightly in mine as we sat in the chairs together quietly. No words could or had to be said as the tension of the situation filled the air. Shockingly, Derek arrived after a few minutes and took a seat in front of us, causing us both to sit straighter.

"You know the stuff you were telling us earlier about chemo signals?" Scott asked Derek to take our minds off things. "It reminded me of the time you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift."

"I think you ended up teaching me more about that," Derek admitted with a wry grin.

"Are you teaching me again?"

"Think of it more like sharing a few trade secrets," he corrected. "You two know I took Cora back to South America, right? It's where she spent most of her time after the fire, but that's not the only reason I left. I needed to talk to my mother."

"Your dead mother? The one who is definitely 100% dead? That one?" I questioned, incredulous.

Derek chuckled. "The one and only. It's a long story, but she told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things. She said my family didn't just _live_ in Beacon Hills. We protected it. This town needs someone to protect it; someone like you." He looked straight at Scott.

"And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets," Scott responded automatically. Derek's mouth lifted into a smile, but then, Scott shot out of his seat.

"What's up?" I looked up at him, eyebrow raised.

"He was trying to protect us. Stiles was trying to protect us."

Glad that someone had finally connected the dots, I agreed. "From himself. Exactly. Let's go."

I hurried to the rooftop with the two werewolves and started looking around. There had to be something here that caused him to fight himself, or whatever it was inside him, so desperately.

"What are we looking for, Scott?"

"I'm not sure. I think Stiles was also struggling not to do something."

My steps slowed as my eyes caught sight of a duffle bag on top of one of the wired cages. I climbed onto a wooden box and pulled it down, the heavy weight causing me to drop it on the floor.

There were tools in it, all used for electrical purposes. I looked back up at the wires above the cage and saw that one wire in particular had been tampered with.

I quickly stumbled off the box and away from the exploding wire. Sparks flew in the air and the three of us backed away to avoid getting hit. The wire twisted and flailed in the air freely at this point, dangerously dangling over the edge.

What did Stiles do?

* * *

**AN: _Feels. A lot of them. AYAYAYYAYAY. jk. But I hope this was okay. Eh, idk how I feel about it. My writing has been off since I got back from the tournament. Feels unnatural. But idk it'll be back soon._**

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	8. Eight

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I looked over the edge of the roof and saw the entire parking lot in chaos. The wire was swinging precariously close to the pavement and people were bound to get hurt.

"We have to the parking lot," I told the two wolves.

They each nodded and the three of us rushed down the stairs and out the doors, skidding to a stop as water flowed onto the concrete, the wire causing it to spark with electricity.

"Everyone get back!" Kira was yelling, trying to get people to stop. A man was already electrocuted near his car and Allison and Isaac were walking towards us.

"Allison, get back!" Isaac pushed her out of the way of the water and instead stepped into it, defending her from the shock.

"Isaac!" I screeched, but Derek held me back when I tried to run over to him. I pulled at my wrist frantically, watching as the beta seized in the water, electricity running up his body until he finally went limp.

"Stop. Fighting. Me!" Derek hissed as I elbowed him repeatedly. "You're just going to get hurt and that won't do anyone any good!"

A car drove towards Kira, but before she was hit, she jumped up onto the car, back flipping onto the ground behind it. The wire was flailing near her and she hesitated before grabbing it in her hands, absorbing the electricity as her hand clasped over it.

Her eyes fluttered open and revealed a bright orange color. She looked like the kitsune she was meant to be. I stopped struggling long enough to admire the sight. But then Derek released his grip on my wrist and I wrenched away from him, going over to Isaac's unconscious form on the concrete.

"Isaac! Come on, don't do this!" I shook his body, but got no response. Derek knelt beside me and checked his pulse. Even without feeling it myself, the look on his face was enough confirmation.

"Scott!" I screamed, heart pumping wildly. "He's not breathing!"

* * *

I sat silently in the McCall's car, too much on my mind to speak and not really wanting to in the first place. Everything was falling apart in my perspective. Stiles had been missing for two days without a trace. Isaac wasn't even close to healing and was still in a comatose state.

I'd just put together that it was a nogitsune that had tried to possess me and had succeeded in getting Stiles, hence why he was missing. That in and of itself made my guilt increase tenfold. A demonic spirit. I'd let a demonic spirit take over my boyfriend. I was a terrible person.

"We're here, honey," Melissa's soft voice made me jump in surprise and I looked out the window to see the hospital looming to the right of the car.

With a tight smile directed towards her, I got out of the car and Scott was immediately at my side, arm around my shoulders supportively. I instinctively wrapped mine around his waist, needing to know someone was there.

Melissa approached us and we went into the hospital, the cool air making me shiver as we passed through the doors. As we entered the elevator, we stood in somber silence until the sharp 'ding' signaled our arrival to the third floor. We found Allison half asleep in a chair and she stirred due to our approaching footsteps.

"Have you been here all night?" Scott asked, concern laced in his tone.

"They wouldn't let us go see him because we're not family. I told them he doesn't have any," she replied, looking down.

"He's got us," Melissa countered, holding up a card. "And I've got a key card."

The three of us shared a tiny grin of amusement and went over to Isaac's room. Melissa swiped the card in the slot quietly, swinging open the door for us.

"Be quick," she instructed us. We all nodded and entered the room.

My heart clenched as I examined Isaac's still form on the bed. One side of his neck was completely burnt and a part of my mind flashed back to the time where I burnt his hands in a fit of anger. My heart clenched even more.

Scott tightened his arm around my shoulders and was surprised when Allison took his hand in hers. He said nothing as he squeezed it reassuringly before leading the two of us to the side of his bed.

"I thought he'd be healing by now," Allison admitted.

"So did I," Scott agreed sadly.

"Is he in pain?" she questioned.

Scott moved his arms from my shoulders and took the beta's arm. Seconds later, black veins snaked up his arms as the pain was transferred to his body. His face contorted in pain before he let Isaac's arm drop softly, taking in a breath.

"It won't heal him, but it helps with the pain," he informed us.

"Did Stiles really do this?"

"No," I immediately shot her down. "Whatever's inside him is. Stiles would never- he wouldn't ever do this."

"Well, how do we get whatever the hell's in side of him, out of him?" she looked down at Scott.

"I'm working on it," he responded simply and I sighed deeply, looking down at Isaac. There had to be something we could do before more people got hurt.

* * *

"Hey, Kira!" I greeted politely as Scott and I walked up to her. She smiled at me and waved.

"Hi. Zarina, right?" she pointed at me. I laughed lightly and nodded.

"So, what'd you find out about the nogitsune?" Scott went straight to business.

"Well, it's strange. The thing is, in all of the stories, the kitsunes are tricksters. They're mischievous. They don't really get caught up in right or wrong or even understand it," she explained as we went down the stairs.

"What's that mean? It's just doing this for the hell of it?" Scott questioned.

"That can't be it," I disagreed softly. "There has to be more. Someone had to have triggered it. Right?"

Kira was silent for a second. "Sort of. That's on the right track. See, something else I found out was that if you somehow offend a nogitsune, it can react pretty badly."

"Well, how do you offend one?"

"I don't know, but if it's doing something this bad, then someone really, really offended it," she looked at the two of us worriedly.

I sighed and pushed my tongue into my cheek. "We'll figure this out later. We have to go get ready for cross-country. Finstock's gonna kill us if we're late." I really wanted to talk more about it, but we didn't have the time.

"Alright, I'll see you two soon," his gaze lingered on Kira for a second longer before he turned on his heel and went into the boys' locker room.

"So, you and Scott?" I waggled my eyebrows as we headed towards the locker room. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went red.

"W-what? No! He's just…different," she stuttered.

"That's what I said about Isaac," I told her, though my mood fell once his name left my lips. "Then we started dating."

"D-dating? Scott? That's ridiculous," she laughed nervously.

I raised my hand in false surrender. "He's a great guy. We've been friends since diapers. You'd be good for him."

"Thanks," she blurted out and I smirked. "I mean, whatever you say."

I giggled and went to my locker, grabbing my clothes. I had just put on my running shorts when my eyes started to burn. I shut my eyes and stuffed my head into the locker as I saw Stiles in the basement, holding one of Argent's emitters in his hand.

I shot out of the locker room, the burning going away with each step. I saw Scott and the twins right in front of me as we all bounded down the stairs to the basement.

We stopped as we looked down the hall. The spiked up hair and the plaid shirt made my heart skip three beats. Stiles looked up from the floor and turned to us, emitter in hand like I'd seen in my vision. Scott and I tensed, but the twins' eyes glowed.

"Okay, I know what you guys are thinking, but it's me. I swear to god, it's me," he held his hands up in defense.

The twins let out a roar and lunged for him. They grabbed him by his neck and lifted him into the air, emitter dropping from his hand.

"No, don't!" I screeched and grabbed a twin by the back of his shirt, yanking him off. The other twin, however, stayed put, hand squeezing harder.

"Stop!" Scott yelled and turned the other twin- Aiden –around. He growled at my friend, but Scott overpowered him with his own growl, scaring the omega into submission.

Stiles got to his feet and recaptured his breath. "It's me, Scott. I swear it's me. I don't know where I've been these past two days or what I've been doing, but this is me. I promise."

He looked at me pleadingly, but something flashed in his eyes. Something familiar and dark. "It's me."

"Do you know what happened at the hospital?" Ethan accused.

"I know more than that," Stiles showed us a blueprint he'd found, opening it up on the table. "You see that? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring. You see all these markings in red? That's my handwriting. I know I did this. I caused the accident and everything in the bag, it's all stuff that could be part of something bigger."

Aiden bent over the bag and picked up a rather large and dangerous tool. "What the hell have you been up to?"

"I think something worse," Stiles' eyes moved to look up at us. "A lot worse."

* * *

The other boys went to rifle through the bag, but Stiles took my hand and led me away from them. I felt trepidation rise in my stomach. This looked like Stiles and it felt like him, but was it? The look I saw in his eyes was too evil, too smug to be him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, not able to keep the worry from flooding my voice.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Stiles said softly, brushing my hair behind my ear. It felt wrong. The gesture seemed more teasing than anything else. "Especially after everything that's been happening."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just really tired," I admitted reluctantly.

"It's okay, you'll get to rest soon," his mouth quirked up in a small smile and I felt a chill go down my spine. For some reason, I felt like the sentence had a double meaning.

"Uh- we should…we should go back."

I licked my lips and gestured to the werewolves before heading back toward them, heart beating wildly. Stiles stayed behind us as the four of us went through his bag and I felt my suspicions rise. I was convinced that this wasn't Stiles, but the part of me that believed him wouldn't let me act on it.

"What the hell were you doing? Building a terminator?" Aiden asked with a raised brow.

"Thank you for that," Stiles shot back, making a face.

I blew a puff of air from my mouth as I pulled a folded paper out of the bag. I opened it up and spread it on the table, the boys gathering around it.

"This is a map," I realized slowly. "I'm positive that this is the cross country trail."

Scott's finger moved up the red path drawn on it. "That's the Tate car. Where Malia's family died."

Stiles looked at the two of us. "You mean, that's where her father put steel-jawed traps."

"Oh god. Coach is already there with the team," I informed them. "Now would be a preferable time to go."

I folded up the map and handed it to Scott as the others packed the tool bag. We stumbled up the stairs and to the parking lot, where Scott and Stiles practically pushed me into the back seat of the jeep. I lurched forward the entire ride to the trail; Stiles' foot like led on the gas pedal.

"Stilinski…what?" Finstock gaped at him as we exited the jeep.

"Coach, listen closely," Stiles and I stopped in front of him as Scott took off down the trail towards the other students. "There are still metal animal traps out there. Ones for the coyote that used to live in the preserve."

"We have to get the team out of there," I insisted, snapping Finstock out of his surprise. "If we don't hurry, someone's going to get hurt."

"And just how do you two know about these traps?" Coach raised an eyebrow skeptically and I groaned, tipping my head back.

"His father's the sheriff, he knows everything," I deadpanned.

Stiles nodded quickly beside me. Finstock considered this for a moment, but eventually caved in.

"Alright, let's go," he started jogging down the trail and the two of us followed him. Eventually, we reached the spot circled on the map we'd found just as the entire team came towards us.

"Whoa, whoa, stop!" Stiles held his hand out and started searching through the leaves for a trap.

He found a circle of metal and pulled at it, revealing a long chain. However, instead of a trap at the end, there was nothing.

Finstock clapped slowly, "Congratulations, Stilinski. You found a length of chain. Can somebody now please tell me what the hell is going on?"

Finstock walked towards the students, but I noticed a thin wire running along the ground, high enough to catch a foot.

"No, coach!" Scott and I screamed simultaneously, but the damage was done. An arrow lodged itself in Finstock's chest and he looked down at it slowly.

"Oh, crap," he muttered, falling onto his back. I knelt beside him and the others followed, Scott and Stiles crouched on either side of me.

"What the hell?" Danny walked to the front of the crowd.

"Call an ambulance," I glanced at him over my shoulder and he complied, moving to the side with his phone pulled out.

Then the screaming started as the adrenaline wore off and Coach finally understood the situation. "Get it out of me! Get it out of me! Get it out of me!"

He squirmed on the ground, but the twins held him down. "Get it out of me! Oh my god! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" His voice was raised to an almost hysterical pitch. "Get it out of me! I'm gonna die!"

Stiles' hands were pressed on his wound, but Finstock's erratic movements made it difficult for him to do so. "Coach! You're not going to die!"

"I'm gonna die!" his eyes went wider.

"If you stop moving, you won't! You're only making this more painful for yourself," I overlapped his words.

"Get that thing out of me!"

"Stay still, coach, an ambulance is coming," Aiden tried to reassure him, hands still tightly pressed to his shoulder.

"Get it out! I'm going to die!"

Scott sent me a look and I immediately understood. I looked over at Aiden and he met my gaze. "Get them away from coach, he needs space."

Aiden got onto his knees, "Get back! Give him some room!"

Soon, the students dispersed enough for Scott to take coach's- now still- hand. He closed his eyes and started to suck away the pain, but I could see how much of a toll this was taking on him. Scott wasn't a superhero; even he can't handle this much pain. Coach's hand fell back to his side as my friend finished.

"I think he just passed out," he announced.

Stiles lifted his shaking, blood-covered hands and stared down at them in horror. "I-I could've killed him. I could've killed him, right? I mean, what if- what if it was his head or h-his throat?"

Scott gave him a soft look. "But it wasn't and he's going to be alright." Then he paused, hearing something in the distance. "I can hear an ambulance coming. And the police."

Stiles looked up from his hands. "And my dad."

* * *

I watched on as Stiles and his dad hugged each other tightly. I know how hard it'd been for the sheriff to have to live without knowing where his son was. My eyes averted to Scott, who was starting to look sickly.

"Scotty, you okay?" I gently put my hand on his arm.

He nodded slowly, "I'm good."

"No you're not. You can't keep doing this to yourself," my hand dropped heavily to my side. "I know you think you can handle this now that you're an Alpha, but there's still a limit. And you've passed it."

"Don't worry about me. I'm a big boy, I can handle this," he grinned feebly and I sighed.

"Hey, Scott, Zarina. I think I found something," Aiden called for us and we met him at the trunk of Stiles' jeep. He was holding a roll of wrapping paper.

"That's what we used for coach's birthday present," I noticed.

"Wasn't that the Barrow thing? A bomb made form nails and bolts, all wrapped up in a birthday present?" Aiden realized.

"Are you saying there's another bomb somewhere?" I raised an eyebrow at the omega.

"Possibly," he shrugged. "We can't take any chances. It looks like he's been up to something. Where did it go off?"

Scott and I shared a look. "On a school bus."

The Alpha rushed to the Stilinskis and I turned to Aiden. "Put that back inside. If people see that, we'll have to explain why Stiles has potential bomb equipment in his trunk."

"Maybe that's because he's a psychopath," Aiden suggested, shoving everything back into the jeep.

"He's not insane. But he's something."

I bit my lip as I looked over at the sheriff's panicked face as Scott told him the news. After a blur of a few minutes, I was sitting in the car besides Aiden, my leg bouncing anxiously. As soon as we arrived at the school, we moved to a space in front of the school bus.

The air was thick with tension as one of the deputies entered the yellow vehicle, tools in hand and a vest over his uniform. The minutes that ticked on felt like hours in my perspective and I desperately wondered what was taking so long.

The, the sheriff's radio screeched on and I couldn't make out the words, only the loud scratching noises. The deputy walked over to the front window of the bus and pressed something against the mirror.

It was the sheriff's nameplate, the one that was always on his desk. We definitely knew where the bomb was now.

* * *

We rushed into the already demolished police station. Windows were shattered, pieces of paper and furniture scattered every which way, dead and dying officers on the floor. It was complete and utter carnage.

"Get me an ambulance at the sheriff's station. There was an explosion. We've got multiple officers down. Multiple officers now," the sheriff called the hospital as he helped hoist injured men up onto their feet.

"Scott! Scott!" Stiles was knelt by an injured man's head and we hurried to his side, sitting more to the left of the officer. "C-can you do something? Take his pain away? Anything to make it easier?"

My body went rigid. The request lacked a certain sincerity that it should've held. "Scott, you can't do this again. This is too much."

"I have to. It's the right thing to do," he argued stubbornly.

"No, wait there has to be-" but Scott already had black veins running up and down his arms. I heard him take in a sharp breath as the pain increased in his system. The deputy lifted his head to look at Scott, but soon he went limp and his head hit the ground with one final breath.

I covered my mouth with my hands in terror as Scott gaped, shocked. He put the man's hand back onto the ground, the three of us simply staring down at the man's body.

"Go, go, now! Get out of here. All of you!" the sheriff tapped Stiles on the shoulder.

I couldn't move as Scott and Stiles each grabbed one of my arms, hauling me to my feet and towards the door, where Kira was running through. I felt my breathing go shallow, but I forced myself to calm down. I couldn't be weak.

"The Oni, they're coming," Kira informed us quickly.

Scott, who was still recovering from his own shock, finally returned to his right state of mind. "Stiles, we have to get you out of here."

He grabbed Stiles' arm and Kira grabbed my shaking wrist, pulling me with her as we followed the boys. We hopped into the back of the car, rain beginning to pour outside, and I noted how weak Scott was looking.

"We need to go to the vet's," he decided.

"An animal clinic?" Kira asked skeptically.

"The place is lined with mountain ash," I swallowed thickly. "It should buy us time."

"But can they get through?" Stiles glanced at us.

"Eventually."

"Nobody's got any better ideas?" We all looked at him seriously. "Okay, sure. Animal clinic."

The rain fell harder as we arrived and we each stumbled towards the back door. Stiles pulled on the door handle frantically, but it was locked. Behind us, I could feel the familiar cold presence of the Oni and the rest of us followed Scott's example, turning towards them slowly.

"Stiles, get inside," Scott tossed him the keys and Stiles didn't argue as he fumbled to get them into the lock.

I pulled out a knife for each hand and parried one of the Oni's attacks. Scott was already dealing with two, whereas I was having difficulties with just one. I ducked and weaved and kicked and sliced as frequently as possible.

"Kira, Zarina, get inside!" Stiles was yelling. That was enough distraction for me to grab the Oni's arm and flip it to the ground, onto its back.

I saw Kira hit another one with a long piece of wood with such impact, that the Oni fell. Scott and I stopped for a moment, admiring the way she dealt with the situation with such ease.

From my peripherals, I saw a katana jab towards my stomach, but I intercepted it with the hilt of my knife, twisting it so that the sword fell out of its hand. However, Scott didn't react in time. I watched helplessly as a sword stabbed into his stomach and he fell to his knees in pain. I stabbed one of them in the chest, kicking them to the ground before sprinting to my friend.

"Okay, Scott, get up," I hoisted him to his feet as best as I could.

"Alright, get him inside," Stiles grabbed hold of his other arm as Kira took the other.

I stayed close to his back in case he fell ready to catch him. I held the clinic's door open, the two of them dragging him inside. They got him into the room and sat him on the metal table. His breathing came in short gasps and I stood next to Kira as her hand gripped the handle, ready to pull the blade out.

A hand gripped her wrist and twisted it, using her arm as leverage to slam her head against the table, knocking her out. I backed away from Stiles as his mouth turned into a sadistic smirk. He stalked towards me slowly and I felt my heart stutter in my chest.

I let out a sob as my back hit the wall, but Stiles kept edging towards me until his body was just an inch away from mine. I tightened my hand around my knife, but he saw the movement and grabbed my wrist, pinning it to the wall beside my head. I felt my wrist crack and the knife dropped as I bit my lip in pain.

"You see what happens?" Stiles said with a fake pout. "Didn't I warn her? I did warn her, Scott. I did." He turned his head to Scott, then back to me, eyes darkening.

"Give Stiles back," I hissed and I felt my wrist crack even more. He placed his other hand on the wall near my face and I grimaced away from him.

"Ah, I would. I really would, but he's gone now, sweetheart," he whispered. "And who's fault do you think that is? Because it's not mine. Though, there is still a part of him in here somewhere. I hear him. He's begging me not to hurt you. To spare your life. Pathetic, really. Makes me want to kill you even more."

His face inched closer to mine and I pressed my head further into the wall.

Stiles sighed mockingly. "But maybe just this once, Stiles. I'll let her live. Just this once."

He gripped my throat and slammed my head against the hard brick wall, sending me into a pain-filled darkness.

* * *

**AN: _Dark Stiles is fun to write. Sorry this chapter's late! SO MUCH HOMEWORK AND SCHOOL AND UGH. Hate it, but it has to be done._**

**_Thank you all for the support and everything else. Even with my super inconsistent tendencies as of late, it means a lot that people are sticking around. Please continue to do all that if you're enjoying this!_**

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	9. Nine

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

"What happened?" I croaked as I sat up in my hospital bed. Sunlight streamed through the window beside me and I rubbed my eyes.

"You got a minor concussion," Alex told me from the table he was bent over as he wrote down my information. "Nothing too serious."

We stayed silent for a couple of moments, both of us lost in thought. My head was pounding and it felt like the room was spinning.

"I'm going out of town for the next two days," he said and I looked up at him, eyes wide.

"W-why?" I didn't want to be alone. Not at a time like that.

"The sheriff wants me to head down to LA with him tomorrow to talk to a specialist about Stiles'….condition," he hesitated. "Are you gonna be fine on your own?"

I breathed out shakily. "Of course. Always am."

He started to say something, but I couldn't focus as my eyes wandered to the open door. My mom was standing at the door, a warm smile on her face. I stood from my bed, ignoring the sudden rush of nausea I felt.

"Zarina, you can't get up," Alex tried to grab my wrist but I pulled it out of the way. "Zarina!"

"Mom," I muttered before going out the door and down the hall.

I kept my gaze focused on my mother's body, the nurses and doctors bustling around me. My mom was here. She was alive. A part of me was desperately trying to pull me back, to return to my hospital room, but I couldn't.

Before I knew it, I was entering the room where the Oni had marked me. I looked around for my mom, but all I saw was the nogitsune. Its teeth were bared in some kind of sick grin and I felt my stomach flip flop.

"Where's my mom?" I whispered.

"Six feet under the ground, if I remember correctly," it responded. "Did you honestly believe that she was here? That she would come up to you and hug you and tell you how much she loves you?"

"Why are you doing this?" my voice cracked.

"Oh, poor naïve Zarina. See, we're tricksters. We will fool you, and you've just proven how easy it is to do just that," it stepped closer to me.

"You're not real," I put my hands over my ears. "_You're not real_."

"We are. We're real. We're right here with you," the nogitsune lunged at me, claws extended on one of its hands.

"Stop! Zarina, don't do this!"

I gasped and blinked repeatedly. My hands were gripping a pair of scissors and it was poised in front of my stomach, as if to stab myself. Alex and a few other nurses were in front of me, most of their hands gripping my wrists, trying to pry the sharp object away from me. As they pulled at my hands, I stopped fighting them and let them move my arms away from my body.

I dropped the scissors like a hot object and stood there, eyes wide and the room spinning around me. Alex moved to stand directly in front of me, blocking me from the other nurses' visions.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what happened," I stuttered, breathing heavily. "I-I thought m-mom was there. It w-was so real."

He pulled me into his arms and I sighed, melting into his comfort, though the terror tore away at my chest. I'd just attempted to kill myself and I didn't even realize.

"It's okay, I believe you. We'll figure this out."

* * *

After multiple tests and check-ups with more doctors, they'd suggested to have my brother put me in Eichen House while he was gone in LA. They said the first 72 hours were free and that I'd be safe from others and myself while inside.

My brother, extremely traumatized from my little scene I'd made, was all for the idea. Plus, I was positive he was still on the fact that I was a schizophrenic and that a few therapy sessions in the psychiatric facility would make me feel better. I completely doubted that, but as we entered the building, I found myself unable to argue with his decision.

The place was honestly depressing. The walls were all white, with several windows along them, but the entire atmosphere screamed 'crazy'. People in wheelchairs were seated mindlessly around the room and several even looked back at us, causing me to shift nervously.

"Mr. Carlisle," a nurse came up to us with an overly large smile. "This way." We followed her down one of the hallways and into an office, where we sat in to chair adjacent to her desk.

"The first 72 hours there's no phone calls, no emails, no visitors," she began as she handed my brother a release form. "We will be taking her from here to a brief physical and in the morning you'll be assessed by a staff psychologist, speak to a social worker, and attend group therapy."

I saw my brother tense in his chair and he put the clipboard back onto the desk, his signature half finished. "Uh, Zarina, are you sure you have everything?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," I said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

The nurse put a pair of slippers on the desk. "You will be wearing these, Zarina. No laces allowed. You don't have a belt, do you?" I glanced down at my skirt and shook my head, pulling my lips in. "Please empty your purse and place it in here." She placed a white bin on the table and I put my phone and wallet inside reluctantly.

"Your ring, the one mom gave you," Alex said suddenly. "You hate going anywhere without it on."

"Alex, it's fine. It's just two days," I reassured, though I knew he was right. The ring she gave me made me feel safe, like nothing could hurt me, even in my nightmares. Without it, I was a nervous wreck.

I continued to place more things inside the bin, extra coins, my watch, even the hair ties on my wrist. My brother started to look around the room uncomfortably, his leg bouncing up and down. The nurse walked around her desk to guide me out of my room and my brother shot up from his seat.

"No, stop," he burst out. "I can't do this. No matter what you tried to do to yourself, I can't let you stay in here without knowing you're going to be okay."

I stood and put my hands on his shoulder gently. "Alex, I haven't been okay for a really long time."

I pulled him into a hug and he returned it, arms snaking around my waist. I felt him kiss the side of my head, lingering for a moment before pulling away.

I began to walk off with the nurse down the hall, but I didn't dare to look back at my brother or stop my steady footsteps because if I did, I wouldn't be able to start again.

* * *

"Here is your room. You are allowed out of it from the hours of 10-6 PM," the nurse informed me and I tugged on the sleeves of my new blue jumper, nodding in understanding. She opened the door and I walked inside quietly, seeing a blonde girl sitting on the bed, looking out the window.

"I'll leave you to get acquainted. You are free to explore the facility, but please be back in your room by 5:30," the nurse concluded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Uh, hi," I slowly sat on my bed, looking at the girl. "I'm Zarina. Your new roommate, I guess." The girl turned, her green eyes blank and her face emotionless.

"Dana," she replied blandly. "What are you in for?"

"Schizophrenia," I said unsurely. "You?"

"Bipolar," Dana told me without any hesitation. "Though I keep telling them it's just my period acting up." I snorted and her eyes narrowed. "Is something funny?"

"N-no!" I cleared my throat. "Nothing."

Then, she started to laugh and I felt my mouth open slightly in shock. "I am totally shitting you. You're so cute."

"Thank you?" I raised an eyebrow. Yep, definitely bipolar.

"Well, you're much better than my old roommate, anyways," she shifted so she was sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"What was wrong with her?"

"She had major OCD. To the point of murdering someone when they didn't do things the perfect way she wanted them to."

"Oh my god," I blanched. "What happened to her?"

"Committed suicide. Threw herself off the roof," she answered and the way she said it so nonchalantly suggested that this type of thing happened a lot. "Come on, I'll show you around." Dana got up and I followed her out of the room and down the large staircase.

As she gave me a small tour, I finally noticed how big this place was. There were two separate buildings. One for people like me: 'minor cases' and another for the real psychos. Dana, thankfully, refrained from bringing me into the latter building.

Despite her sudden mood swings, Dana was actually pretty normal. She talked and joked like any real teenager and I was shocked to find myself feeling at ease in her presence.

Once she finished the inside portion of the tour, she took me out to an outside corridor, where multiple people were lounging around in the warm air. She guided me to a bench and we sat, the two of us leaning on pillars adjacent to each other.

"So, what's schizophrenia like?" Dana questioned. Another thing about her was that she didn't beat around the bush.

"It's…well, imagine it like having two separate brains in one body. One thought is always trying to overpower the other and the body holding them has no choice but to listen to the one that wins," I explained as best I could. "Now add suicidal tendencies, hallucinations, and paralytic nightmares into the mix and that's pretty much how it feels."

Dana whistled lowly, nodding. "Must suck. Not being in total control of your own thoughts, movements."

"It does," I agreed. Even if I wasn't really schizophrenic, having a demon invade your mind wasn't too pleasant. "How long have you been here?"

"Three years. My parents sent me here when I acted out at school. Couldn't keep my emotions in check, they said," she said bitterly.

"I'm sorry. I know you probably don't want to hear that, but I am. I know how it feels to have someone you care about think you're insane," I looked her in the eyes.

She smiled at me, but soon started sobbing, tears that hadn't been gathering the moment before falling down her cheeks. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arm soothingly.

I wasn't sure if this was her bipolarity acting up or just her emotions from bringing up her parents, but I wasn't about to just let her think she was along.

Her tears leaked through my shirt as she buried her face into my shoulder. No one else around us seemed to noticed or care, and I was silently thankful that they didn't.

A sort of high-pitched bell rang and I flinched, looking up at a clock nearby. 5:25. I bit my lip and pulled away from Dana, shaking her lightly.

"Hey, we have to get back into the room. Think you can pull yourself together for three minutes?" I asked gently.

She nodded like a small child, sniffling and I gave her a tiny smile before helping her stand. I kept my hand on her back as I weaved her through the other patients and up the stairs to the top floor. I pushed open the door to our room and prodded her inside, making sure to shut it behind me.

Dana slowly crawled onto her bed and curled up into a ball, which I took as a sign to not disturb her, so I didn't. Instead, I got onto my own bed, looking up at the ceiling, the soft sound of sobbing coming from the fragile girl beside me.

* * *

What could've been several hours or just a few minutes later, I heard the echo of a rope being stretched out from our floor. I shot up from my bed and pressed my ear against the doorway, listening in for anything else.

The sound almost sounded like someone hanging themselves. I glanced over at Dana to see if she'd heard it, but she had already cried herself to sleep.

After a few minutes of listening in silence, I was about to pull away when I heard a familiar voice approaching nearby.

"Okay, I know there's that whole 72 hour thing, but I really need to make a phone call," I tried to pinpoint the voice, but it was difficult due to the door muffling the sound.

"The accident that occurred is being taken care of," another, more feminine, voice brushed him off, confirming my suspicions about the suicide.

"You're seriously referring to that as an accident?" the other voice asked, incredulous. The voice was so familiar, I was irritated I couldn't find out who it was.

"Incident," the woman corrected herself and I vaguely heard her unlock the door on the other side of the hall as ours.

"Slightly better," he retorted. "Still need to use the phone. I-just five minutes. Three minutes, please? A three minute call."

"Would you like to go to sleep, Stiles?" My heart thumped and my stomach churned. Stiles. He was here. Right across the hall from me. "Or would you like to be introduced to our five-point restraint system?"

I couldn't hear anything else as the door to Stiles' room closed. I backed away from my own door, sitting onto my bed heavily. He was actually here, which meant he was okay.

But was he the nogitsune, or my Stiles? I didn't care either way. I needed to see him and the thought of having to wait through the night just to do that made me antsy. I fell back onto my bed, the springs squeaking as my weight pushed down on it.

* * *

"Zarina?" Dana propped herself onto one elbow, squinting as the sun blinded her. Her eyes were red and puffy from her crying, but other than that she looked perfectly rejuvenated. I sat up on my bed, pressing my back into the wall and pulled my legs to my chest. "Have you been up all night?"

"Couldn't sleep," I admitted, rubbing my burning eyes. "Too much on my mind."

"The first night's always the hardest," she nodded and got up, stretching her arms. The door clicked as someone unlocked it and both our heads shot to the side to look at it. "Let's get some food then take a walk. On nights like last night, all I need is fresh air."

"Alright, sounds good," I got up eagerly, the thought of seeing Stiles filling my mind.

Dana raised an eyebrow at my sudden enthusiasm, but didn't comment on it as we exited our room, going down the flight of stairs and heading for the kitchen area. We ate our tiny meal of eggs and bacon in silence and, when finished, went back into that outdoor corridor she'd showed me.

We walked down the concrete hallway, there were arches of bricks to our right and I looked through one at the trees and sunshine on the other side. It was a big difference from the bleak environment of the facility.

"I really wish I could see my little brother," she glanced at me.

"You have a brother?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah," she smiled blissfully. "He's great. I think, out of everything, I miss him the most."

"I would too," I nodded. "You know anyone else around here?" We stopped at the doorway of where the phone was situated, a bald woman talking into it mindlessly.

"Other than a few weirdos who think they're Jesus," I snorted and she grinned. "No, not really. No one else seemed worth my time."

"And I do?" I teased.

"Actually, yes. I don't know what it is, but you seem like you don't deserve to actually be here," Dana replied seriously. "You seem perfectly normal."

"Trust me, I'm anything but perfectly normal," I muttered and I let my eyes wander around the corridor.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw a pair of hazel eyes already staring at me. He was frozen mid-step, another guy beside him, asking what was wrong, but his gaze stayed on me.

The sudden flood of love and relief that flooded his eyes was so completely _Stiles_ that I found myself sprinting all the way to him, letting him catch me in his arms as I threw my arms around his neck.

His arms gripped my waist tightly, as if I would dissipate and I felt him whisper my name into my hair as he lifted me off the ground slightly before setting me down. I breathed in his scent and melted into every inch of him that I'd missed since he had left me.

"You're here," I whispered into his shirt. "You're real. I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," he replied into my ear and I couldn't hold back the elated laugh that escaped my lips. It wasn't a hallucination. Not this time.

We pulled away from each other, but I kept my arms around his neck, taking in his face. He had eye bags and his face was pallid, but the bright smile that adorned it made it seem that much brighter that my heart swelled.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles looked down at me, voice breathy.

"Really long story that I should probably tell you when there are less people around," I bit my lip, smiling and he nodded, letting me go and intertwining our fingers.

"Uh, Oliver, this is Zarina. My girlfriend," he gestured to me while turning to the boy he was walking with before. I gave him a sheepish wave. "Zarina, this is Oliver. My roommate."

"Hi," Oliver greeted awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."

"You- you too," I smiled politely. Dana jogged over to us and gave me a questioning look.

"Boyfriend?" she looked pointedly at Stiles and I nodded. "Great. Hi, I'm Dana." She took Stiles' hand and he shook it, smiling slightly.

"Stiles." The four of us went silent until Oliver coughed.

"Well, that was sufficiently awkward," he remarked and I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, as I was saying before. That's Gary," he pointed to a man with an afro. "Thinks he's Jesus Christ. Dan," he pointed to another guy with long hair. "Also Jesus. That's Mary." He gestured to an African American woman sitting down.

"Mary Magdalene?" Stiles finished for him.

"No, she also thinks she's Jesus," Oliver corrected, leading the three of us back to the room with the telephone. "You'd be surprised how many Jesus' we get."

"Not really," I replied slowly, sharing an amused glance with Dana.

"Hey, how come you want to use the phone already?" Oliver asked Stiles, who was glancing around uncomfortably. I looked up at him and he squeezed my hand softly.

"Because after one night, I've changed my mind about this place being safe for me or anyone. Ever," he replied. My brow furrowed, but I didn't question him.

"You're wrong," the woman at the phone was saying. "I really think I should tell them. They're going to want to know the story. The _whole_ story." Stiles' head snapped to her and I followed his gaze curiously. "I really think they should know. Yes, I do. One of them is standing right behind me."

My eyes went wide as I stared at the woman, letting my gaze fall on Stiles, who looked completely shocked at her words. What did she mean by that? Then, the woman hung up the phone and brushed past us as if nothing had happened.

"Who was that?" I asked quietly, but was ignored as Stiles dragged me into the room, letting go of my hand to put the phone to his ear.

"That's Meredith," Dana told me, looking over her shoulder. "She's a little weird."

"No, Oliver's a little weird," Stiles argued. "She's a lot weird."

He started to push down on one of the metal buttons on the phone to get a signal, and after a few tries, he took the phone away from his ear.

"It's dead," he announced.

"Yeah," Oliver told him with a 'duh' tone of voice. "They turn off the phone 24 hours after a suicide."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Stiles questioned, breathing out harshly.

"Why didn't you ask?" Oliver shot back.

With a huff, Stiles placed the phone back onto the machine and started walking away, the three of us hurrying to keep up with him.

"What are you planning to do now?" I looked at him pleadingly.

"We're getting out of this nuthouse," he told me firmly and I pursed my lips.

"That's not really an appropriate way to describe a facility like this," Dana tried to counter, but Stiles was busy looking at something else.

He nudged me and I looked up at what he saw. He was looking at the back of a head with curly, brown hair that looked vaguely familiar.

"Malia?" the two of us walked up to her, leaving our roommates behind. She turned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hey. Stiles and Zarina. Do you remember us? We're friends with Scott."

"Remember?" I added. "We were the ones who helped you-"

She promptly proceeded to slam her knee into my stomach, the air knocking out of my lungs as I keeled over, falling onto my knees, gasping. She then punched Stiles, who fell to the ground beside me and guards came instantly.

"Hey, Malia!" one of them grabbed her as she struggled.

Two of the guards held our wrists together behind our backs and pinned the two of us to the ground, pressing our faces against a tile with circular pieces of glass in it; enough for us to see through.

"She's the one who hit us!" Stiles fought against their grip, but they didn't let up.

"More like this Malia and you're headed to the closed unit," the guard restraining her threatened.

"Okay, w-wait stop, we didn't do anything," Stiles cried out as we were pushed harder onto the floor. Another guard helped the first one drag Malia away. "Hey, stop!"

I saw Stiles lift his head slightly, eyes wide as he looked down into the holes in the floor. I coughed as I tried to regain my breath, looking down into the glass circles as well.

Underneath us, there was a strange looking basement. There was a big metal barrel in the middle of the room and I glanced back at Stiles to see recognition in his features.

"Enough," Morrell pushed through the crowd. "Enough." She looked at the guards holding us down and they let us go. I got to my knees and put a hand on Stiles' shoulder as he continued to look down at the basement.

"Stiles," Morrell knelt in front of him. "You saw something, didn't you?"

"The basement," he replied shakily. "I've been down there before."

* * *

I was sitting between Stiles and Dana in a circle of patients, Morrell leading the session. My hand was holding Stiles', though his leg kept bouncing nervously as he looked down at his lap.

Malia was there too, arms and legs crossed as she glowered at the two of us. I held back the urge to roll my eyes at her ungratefulness.

"I want to go back to the topic of guilt today," Morrell was saying. "It might surprise you to hear me say guilt is a good thing. It's a rather mature emotion. Malia, you said something about guilt the other day. Said it came with a visceral reaction."

"I said it made me feel sick to my stomach," Malia told us. Oliver began to cough loudly beside Stiles and I gave him a worried glance.

"Guilt often becomes physical," Morrell continued. "You feel it in your gut. It's not just psychological."

Stiles looked over his shoulder and I did the same, breathing harshly as it came into view. The nogitsune, dressed in doctor's garb, was talking to a specialist as if it were just another person, not a demonic spirit. It turned its head to us and we looked away sharply, sharing a scared look.

"_You saw it too?"_ Stiles mouthed and I nodded, lip trembling.

"How does guilt make you feel, Stiles?" Marin looked at him.

"I'm sorry, what?" he leaned forward slightly, gripping my hand.

"Guilt," she repeated. "What does it make you feel?"

"Nervous," he replied.

"Like a sense of urgency?" He nodded lightly. "You feel an urgent need to make up for something you've done. To apologize."

From the corner of my eye, I saw the nogitsune get closer to us and I couldn't stop the tiny sob that escaped my throat, but no one noticed. Stiles seemed to see the nogitsune too because his entire body went went rigid.

Our hands held the others' so tightly that I thought we were going to break our bones.

"These are healthy responses," the psychologist finished, but I barely heard her, biting my lip to contain my sounds of fear. "Does anyone know what we call someone who doesn't experience guilt?"

"Sociopath?" Oliver raised his hand slightly and she nodded.

"That's right Oliver." Stiles started to rub his neck and I fidgeted in my seat, eager to leave. Morrell noticed this, eyes locking on the red veins in his neck. "I'm sorry, everyone, but we need to take a break."

Stiles and I looked up at her as she got up from her seat, walking towards us. "Come with me, Stiles. You too, Zarina. I'd like to talk to you two for a minute."

We followed her down the hall and into her office. I let go of Stiles' hand as she instructed him to lift the back of his shirt, which he did. I stood beside her and ran my fingers over the network of red veins that were coming from a patch near his shoulder blade.

"It's called a Lichtenburg Figure," she explained as my eyes traced the lines. "They appear in lightening strike victims." Stiles roughly tugged down his shirt and looked at her. "The fact that they're appearing on you after a shot of wolf lichen is both significant and strange."

"By significant and strange, do you mean hopeful and optimistic?" he questioned, punching the air lamely.

"When the marks fade," she looked down at two bottles in her hand. "The nogitsune's grip over you will return." She shut the cabinet she had gotten them from and walked back to us, handing Stiles an orange bottle for pills.

"What are these, sleeping pills?" he looked at them.

"Amphetamines. Sleeping is exactly what you _don't_ want to do," she explained. "You're vulnerable when you're asleep."

"So all I have to do is stay awake."

"For now," she agreed. "If your friends haven't figured out something by the time those marks are gone, I'll come find you."

"To tell me what to do?" he offered.

"No, to give you an injection," she corrected without a beat. "Pancuronium bromide. It causes respiratory paralysis."

"That sounds a lot like killing him," I pitched in, incredulous.

"It's used for lethal injection, yes," she nodded.

"So when the nogitsune takes over, you're gonna kill him? No- no way," I argued, fists clenching at my sides.

"I'm going to do what I've always done," she retorted calmly "Maintain the balance."

"Okay then, missed our talks," Stiles began walking away. "Thanks for the illicit drugs." I went to follow him, but her voice stopped me.

"Zarina, I have something to ask you." We both stopped. "Alone."

Stiles looked back at me and I gave him a reassuring smile. He hesitated before leaving the room and shutting the door, though I was sure he was still listening in on our conversation. I turned to the druid, eyebrow raised.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"You're seeing it too, aren't you? The nogitsune. It's playing tricks on you," she deadpanned.

"Yeah, so? I'm not the one being possessed here," I shot back.

"But simply the fact that you're in its sights is dangerous. You need to be careful too. Like I said, it's been playing tricks on you."

"Sure, I'll be careful, but Stiles needs help more than I do right now," I finished firmly before turning on my heel and walking out of the room.

Stiles was leaning against the wall next to the door nonchalantly when I got out, looking as pale and worried as ever.

"Follow me," he looked down at me, grasping my hand. "There's something I need to check out."

* * *

**AN: _Wow I feel good about this chapter. Please let me know your reactions in the reviews! Means a lot. (:_**

**_Sorry for taking so long to update, it's bee a long week. Like super long. Sigh. But ya'll are still supporting and being fabulous so I owe you all very much. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint!_**

**_Please continue to review/fave/follow if you enjoyed! Love you all.  
Tumblr: sstuhlinski_**

**_xx._**


	10. Ten

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

We weaved through multiple hallways, all of which were unfamiliar to me, but Stiles seemed to know where he was going. By the urgent way he pulled me along, he was definitely taking me somewhere important.

He halted when we turned left one final time, looking down the hall in front of us that lead to a single white door.

"What are we doing here?" I whispered, glancing up at him.

"You remember that night I disappeared? When you found me in the woods?" he started and I nodded. "I thought I was here. In this basement."

"Are you sure it's this one?" I licked my lips nervously.

"Positive. When I saw it from upstairs, it looked exactly like it did in my dream," he confirmed and we started walking towards the door silently.

Once we stood in front of it, Stiles pressed his ear to it for a second before pulling away, hearing nothing. He jiggled the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. Of course it was locked. He banged on the door in frustration and I simply stood beside him quietly.

"What are you guys doing?" The two of us let out small noises of surprise and turned to face Oliver.

"I need to get through here," Stiles replied. "To the basement."

"Doctors don't even have a key to this door," Oliver informed us, a tiny smile on his face. "Only Brunski."

"That head orderly guy?" I pitched in curiously.

"He's got keys to everything in here," he breathed out knowingly.

"Does he keep them on him all the time?" Stiles prodded.

"If you want 'em, you'll probably have to figure out a way to trick him."

"Well, a part of me is getting very good a playing tricks," Stiles and I shared a small glance before moving past Oliver down the hall.

I followed Stiles into the men's bathroom as he stumbled to the sink, popping one of the pills Morrell had given him into his mouth and swallowing it down with tap water.

"Okay, okay just gotta stay awake Stiles," he murmured, looking at himself in the mirror. "You just gotta sta- why are you in the boys' bathroom?" He turned to me, brows furrowed and I gave him a look.

"No reason, I'm just secretly a guy," I said seriously.

"Wh-what? Really?"

"No, not really," I laughed. "I'm just making sure you're okay. Plus, I guess I'm still trying to convince myself that it's really you."

Stiles stepped closer to me and bowed his head slightly. "Well, it won't be for long."

"Don't talk like that," I pleaded. "Please don't. It hurts to lose you, so please don't remind me that I'm going to soon."

I blinked and a tear escaped, falling down my face slowly. Stiles grimaced and wiped it away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry. Don't cry," he muttered, kissing my forehead. "You're not going to lose me. I'm not going anywhere, even when it takes over."

"This is so unfair," I croaked. "I finally get to be with you after so long, just so it can take you away again. Why you? It should've been me."

"What are you talking about? I would go through this over and over again if it meant keeping you safe," he scolded gently.

"B-but the nogitsune wanted me first," I admitted finally, the guilt setting in. "It told me that if I didn't let it in, it'd take you, and I didn't listen. This is all my fault."

"You didn't know," Stiles comforted. "You thought you were just seeing things. How could you have known this would happen?"

"Why don't you hate me right now? I essentially ruined your life," I sobbed.

"Because I love you. Zarina, I love you and every little imperfection that comes with you," he whispered. "I can't hate you."

"Even when I let a demon possess you?" I countered lamely and he chuckled.

"Even then."

I rested my head on his chest and breathed out a light 'I love you too' as I listened to his heart beat underneath my ear. As I did my best to swallow the lump in my throat, I couldn't help but notice the throbbing in my stomach from when Malia kneed me.

It was surprising how fast the guards came after that, I thought with realization. I pulled away from Stiles like lightning, an idea coming to mind.

"I know how to get Brunski's keys."

* * *

"Hey, Oliver," I said mockingly, walking up to him in the main room of the facility. He turned to me in confusion.

"Zarina? Why are you talking to me?" he asked.

"Oh no reason, I just decided that you could use someone to talk to, seeing as how the only people you ever loved just dumped you in this place," I pouted fakely.

As his face contorted in hurt, I felt myself wanting to go back on this 'plan' of mine. But for the sake of getting into that basement, I kept my resolve strong, silently apologizing to him for what I as going to say.

"W-what are you talking about? Th-that's not true," he stuttered.

"It's okay, you don't have to deny it. I mean, it's completely understandable that they'd get so tired of taking care of you, that the only thing they could think of was leaving you in this place," I continued as evenly as possible.

"Stop!" his eyes glazed over with tears. "Shut up!"

"Do you know what they do to people like you? They drill holes into your heads. To get rid of that tiny part of your brain that makes you as screwed up as you are."

Then, he knocked me to the floor and pinned my hands to the ground. I let out a yelp of surprise, struggling underneath him.

"You're lying! You're a liar!"

I grit my teeth as I tried to get out of his grip, but his legs were on either side of my torso, keeping me held down firmly. Brunski and another guard came to grab Oliver off of me.

"Get this nutjob off of me!" I cried out as they pried him off.

When Brunski got close enough, I reached for his keys as inconspicuously as possible and clenched them in my hand to hide them.

"NO! She said they drill holes in your head! She said-" Oliver's protests were cut off as they hauled him to his feet.

Stiles came up to me and helped me up. I handed the keys off to him so he could stuff them in his pocket. Once on my feet, he kept an arm around my waist, keeping me steady as I breathed heavily, leaning into him.

Oliver and the guards stared at the two of us for a second before dragging him off to god knows where.

"No, please! C'mon, please don't put a hole in my head, I swear I.." he was protesting, his cries echoing off the walls of the corridor they were walking down.

"You okay?" Stiles looked down at me and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, looking at Oliver's retreating back.

* * *

Stiles and I quickly went to the door of the basement and stood in front of it, hesitating for a moment. Our eyes met in a small second of trepidation, but he pushed it away and inserted a key into the lock. He tried multiple ones, shaking the doorknob frantically, but none of them were working.

"I thought this guy had a key to everything," Stiles muttered as I tried to open it myself. Then, a hand fell on each of our shoulders and we looked up, eyes wide.

"I do," Brunski said and Stiles held up his keys, which he took from him before putting his hand back on my shoulder. "But nobody has the key to that room."

He turned us around harshly and pushed us away from the door and to another one. The walls were lined with doors with barred windows and I already knew what was going to happen.

"Into the quiet room, little man," Brunski unlocked the door and the guards pushed him inside. I was held away from them, watching as the guards kept him restrained in the empty white room. "Wanna tell us where you got these?" He held up the pill bottle we got from Morrell.

"Vending machine," Stiles replied immediately.

"I always loved the sarcastic ones," Brunski chuckled humorlessly and uncapped the syringe in his hand. "Give him five of the Haldol."

"Wait, what is that? Is that a sedative?" Stiles started to struggled more frantically against the one of the guards while the other got the syringe. "Okay, hang on! Hang on! I can't go to sleep. Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look…get off me!"

"No stop! Please don't!" I cried out, trying to get away from my own guards as the syringe was stabbed into his leg, but they simply chuckled at my futile attempts. "Stiles!"

The guards let go of him and he fell to his hands and knees, grabbing for them feebly. "I can't go to sleep. You don't understand…" he trailed off as he fell to the ground. "You don't get it….I-I gotta stay awake….Zarina…"

Brunski shut the door and I started kicking wildly as they took me to the next room over. The two guards dragged me into the white room as I fought.

"What were you and your little boyfriend doing?" Brunski questioned, leaning against the doorway.

"We weren't doing anything bad," I told him, breathing heavy. "We just needed answers."

"You lunatics always want just that. Answers," he snorted. "Pain in my ass, if you ask me. You were the one who stole me keys, weren't you?"

"And you're the one stupid enough to let me," I retorted, grunting as the guards pulled my arms behind my back further.

"Is today my lucky day? Two sarcastic ones in one go," Brunski shook his head in amusement. "Leave her. We'll get them both in the morning."

The guards let go of me and I sprinted for the door, but was pushed to the ground. The door closed with a loud bang and I got up, pounding on it desperately.

"Stiles! Don't be asleep, wake up! Stiles!" I screamed and I was sure that everyone in the facility could hear me. All except him.

* * *

After spending a few minutes trying to find a way out, I finally gave up and sat against the wall, staring at the door helplessly. My mind felt like it was on overload, trying to figure out too many things at once.

_Coup de foudre._

I jumped at the sudden voice, eyes shooting around the room nervously. It sounded like a man's voice. It echoed throughout the room for a few moments before falling into silence. But then it happened again.

_It's an idiom. But the literal translation means 'bolt of lightning'._

A woman's voice this time, echoing the same way the man's had. I stood slowly and walked up to the wall on my right, pressing my ear against it.

There was nothing but dead silence until I heard them. Screams. Horrified, pain-filled screams echoing through the walls. I stumbled backward, but the screams didn't fade or even falter. If anything, they seemed to get louder.

I crumpled to the floor, holding my hands over my ears as I curled my knees to my chest. I rocked back and forth, trying to urge the sounds away, but the screams didn't stop.

A hand touched my back and I screamed, falling onto my butt and looking up at the person. Malia covered my mouth with her hand and I went silent, panting.

"Shut up," she hissed. "I'm getting you and Stiles out of here and into that basement."

I shoved her hand away, getting onto my feet warily. "How'd you get in here, anyways?"

"I can be pretty strong when I want to be," she shrugged. "Is Stiles the next room over?"

I nodded and the two of us sneakily left the room and stood in front of Stiles' door. She held the lock tightly in her hands, jaw clenching as she pulled on it. Eventually, it gave way and she pushed open the door.

Malia stayed by the door to keep watch as I gently woke Stiles. He shot up, yelling and shaking and I put a hand on his cheek as the other helped him sit up.

"Hey, shhh," I comforted. "It's just me." I rubbed his cheekbone with my thumb and he simply stared at my face for a moment, silent.

"H-how did you get in here?" his voice quivered.

"Malia broke the lock," I glanced over at her. "She's kind of strong. Now, get up, we have to go." I hefted him up to his feet and grasped his hand as we turned to Malia.

"There's another way into the basement. Through the closed unit," she told us. "Where they keep the real psychos." She walked out the door and we shared a look before following her.

After walking around for several minutes, we entered the dark basement, my heart beating as we did so. It was much bigger than it looked from above and there was a certain atmosphere of darkness that I just couldn't shake off, making me uneasier by the second.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Malia looked at Stiles, whose gaze was locked on the wall in front of us. I squeezed his hand to get his attention and he blinked.

"Something to do with that," he pointed over to the wall he was looking at and on it was the symbol the Oni had marked my friends and I with. The kanji meaning self. I subconsciously felt the back of my left ear.

The three of us walked closer to it and Malia knelt, tracing the marking on the wall. "What does it mean?"

"Self," I replied quietly.

"Maybe you should tell me more," she prodded, nodding sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes but Stiles spoke before I could. "You might not like me if you know any more."

Malia stood and looked at us. "Try to remember that I'm a werecoyote who murdered her own family. I won't judge, promise."

I met eyes with Stiles and we both let out an uneasy laugh. That promise was easier said than done.

* * *

Malia had left the basement after our long explanation, needing to take a moment to process the whole demon spirit thing. Despite my slight distaste for the girl, I didn't blame her. Stiles and I had found a box of papers lying around in the basement and were rifling through them in silence.

"This place is more of a torture chamber than a mental facility," I muttered. "Electroshock, ice baths, trepanation?" I raised my eyebrow at the last one. "This is what I used to scare Oliver. I didn't think they actually did it."

"I see why they don't want anyone down here," Stiles noted, glancing over at my paper before I set it back into the box.

He threw his own papers down onto the floor and sighed. "There's nothing. Could you check my back? See if they're fading?" he lifted his shirt and I examined the red blotch, running my fingers over it gently.

"They're almost gone," I started to breath erratically, fear taking hold of my heart, constricting it in my chest.

If they were disappearing, then I was running out of time with him. I was terrified. Stiles quickly pulled down his shirt and turned to me, taking my hands in his.

"Breathe, c'mon," he urged and I found myself unable to do anything but breathe out. "Hey, it's okay. Just breathe with me, alright?" He motioned breathing in and out slowly, but I couldn't, tears falling down my face as I gasped for air.

"I-I c-can't, y-you're gonna le-leave me soon," I stuttered out.

"Zarina, I told you I'm not leaving," he whispered. "Focus on me. Focus on my voice. Don't worry it'll be fine."

But I couldn't do anything but look up at him weakly. My chest started to hurt as less and less air filled my lungs and I shook my head feebly, signaling that there was nothing I could do to calm down anymore.

Then, his lips crashed onto mine suddenly. My breathing halted. I was vaguely reminded of the first time we kissed, when he was in my place and I was in his. My eyes fluttered closed and I wrapped my arms around his neck, my hands playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

He pulled away slightly, resting his forehead on mine and I felt myself start breathing normally again. Stiles' hazel eyes bore into mine and my heart fluttered at how completely beautiful they were.

Unable to stop myself, I kissed him again and he eagerly responded as I lied myself down on the couch, our connection never breaking. He crawled on top of me and intertwined our hands, laying them beside my head as his lips ghosted over my jaw and down my neck.

I let out breathy gasps as he nipped at my neck and moved his lips back to mine, licking my bottom one softly. I hugged him closer with my free arm and let myself melt into him, taking in every last second I had with him. The real him.

Then, the screams from earlier entered my eardrums and I pulled away, eyes wide. Stiles looked down at me worriedly as I turned my head to the side, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Stiles, do you hear that?" I said breathily.

He rolled off me and we stood up. I led him back to the wall with the kanji on it and knelt in front of it. I rapped on it with my knuckles and it made a hallow sound.

I looked up at him and his eyes were narrow. "Do you hear something now?"

Stiles quickly searched around for something and grabbed a pipe that was resting against the metal barrel near him. I stood straight and went behind him, watching as he broke through the wall with the pipe.

He dropped it once the hole was big enough and we looked inside carefully, crouching down. There lay the body of a man…with gauze wrapped around his whole head.

"This is him," he murmured, incredulous and I nodded slowly.

"The nogitsune," I agreed, eyes roaming over the rotting corpse.

Hesitantly, with shaky hands, I reached into the hole and probed my fingers into his pocket. Feeling something, I pulled out a tiny picture of two people.

As I looked at it, my stomach churned. One of them looked exactly like Kira. I handed the picture to Stiles, lips pursed.

"Recognize her?" I whispered.

"Yeah," he responded, getting back to his feet. "I gotta get this to Scott."

Then, he started convulsing on the floor, as he was tased in the side. I shot to my feet and turned to Oliver, whose eyes were blank as he looked down at Stiles.

"You took Brunski's keys," he said. "I took his stun gun."

He chuckled halfheartedly and put the electricity to my side. I let out a yelp as I seized, back sliding down the wall as I glared up at him. He knelt in front of me and twirled a syringe in his hand, ignoring my sounds of protest.

"I also got his Haldol," he added gleefully, stabbing the needle into the spot below my knee.

I fought to stay awake, but the drugs were already in my bloodstream as my eyes shut, screams reverberating through my skull.

* * *

_Start with her._

The nogitsune's voice whirred me into semi-consciousness. I couldn't open my eyes, but I could hear and feel things going on around me. My heart pumped as I felt my hands and legs tied to some kind of chair. I tried to move, but I found myself numb and unable to even do that much.

I heard footsteps approach me and adjust the bindings on my hands to make them tighter. Stiles was mumbling something in the background as he did that, but I couldn't catch it.

"Just let her go," he said, louder this time. I assumed it was directed towards Oliver.

_Let me in, Stiles._

Stiles started to grunt and I could heard the chair jostling as if here were trying to break free. I wanted to tell him not to listen, that the nogitsune was just trying to trick him.

_Do you want her to leave here alive? Do you want us to leave? We can walk out of this place._

"Just let her go, please," Stiles sobbed, tugging on his restraints again.

_Let me in._

Stiles started to scream, trying to drown the nogitsune out.

_Let me in, Stiles. Let me in._

I felt Oliver tilt my head back, holding it down in place.

"Let her go please!" Stiles yelled as the drill buzzed, inching closer and closer to my head.

_Let me in, Stiles! Let me in and I'll let her live. Let me in!_

I could feel the drill's presence at this point, the buzzing getting louder and it inched closer to my head. But my real worry was with Stiles. He'd gone silent at this point and I knew that he'd given in. Just to save my life.

"Oliver," Stiles' voice was dark and the drill immediately went dead. I heard the sounds of the restraints being broken off and I did everything in my will to wake myself up, but I couldn't pry open my eyes.

Stiles' slow, almost teasing footsteps approached us and Oliver let out a nervous laugh. Before I knew it, I heard the sound of someone's skull being bashed in with the drill and I didn't have to guess who it was. Stiles let out a breath before walking away.

Finally, I had some sort of control over my body and I felt myself stir. My head tilted to the side and I opened my eyes, ignoring the blurriness that surrounded me as I looked at Stiles' back.

"Stiles?" I asked fearfully as he placed the drill on the desk in front of him.

But I knew it wasn't him as his head turned towards me, a dark grin adorning his face before he walked off, leaving me in the basement.

I fought against my restraints and somehow managed to loosen them enough for me to break free. Drowsily, I ran in the direction Stiles had gone and looked around, calling for him multiple times.

My attempts were futile. Just as the nogitsune had promised, he and the one person I swore to protect were gone.

* * *

**AN: _Aaaand that was Episode 20. Lotta stuff happens. Fun and not so much. LOL. Hope it met your standards well._**

_**WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS NEXT PART OF THE AN SO IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED THE RECENT EP, DONT READ.**_

_First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to Allison Argent. She was an angel and a warrior and a princess in every aspect of herself and I just really think she deserved so much better. Idk I found myself hurting about the whole death a lot more than I initially thought. I couldn't even speak for a while because it was just such a shock that Jeff would even kill her off. But respecting Crystal's decision to leave the show,_ _she did do her character justice because she'd died protecting her friends. Forever and always, RIP._

_**OKAY SPOILERS OVER YOU CAN READ THE REST BYE.**_

_**On a happier note, thanks for the support and love. No amount of words on a page could express my gratitude for all of you faithful fans of mine. Much love to all of you.**_

_**Please continue to review/fave/follow if you enjoyed! Means the world.  
**__**Tumblr: sstuhlinski**_

_**xx.**_


	11. Eleven

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I knocked on the Argent's door, tapping my foot patiently. The door clicked and soon Allison's face peeked through, a tiny smile on her face.

"Hey," she greeted, opening the door further. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"Yeah, it's no big deal," I responded, entering the small apartment. "So, what'd you need me for?"

She led me to the living room and we sat on the couch, facing each other. She was hesitant for a moment. Then two.

"I-uh, well as you probably know, my dad and Derek got released from jail," the huntress began and I nodded slowly, urging her to go on. "And I was thinking, maybe there's a way for us to catch Stiles."

"Catch Stiles?" I repeated quietly. "Like what, a wild animal?"

"No, nothing like that!" she argued quickly. "It's just we have to stop him, or whatever's inside him, from hurting anyone else. The only way to do that-"

"Is to trap him," I finished. "So how are we gonna do this?"

"You're taking this surprisingly well," Allison mused, ignoring my question for the moment. I shrugged.

"I'm actually not," I admitted. "But you have a 'boyfriend' in the hospital and a demon fox is on the loose. I think you could go without hearing my problems."

"If anything, I want to hear that someone's having as bad of a time as I am," she chuckled humorlessly and I joined her.

"Allison, I'm sorry," I blurted and she raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"If I ever gave you a hard time for wanting to be with Isaac or anything else in general, I'm sorry. You don't deserve that. You're one of my best friends," I bit my lip, blinking away tears.

"It's okay," Allison smiled genuinely, patting my knee. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I guess I was just always jealous of you," I continued. "You took everything in stride, weakness barely even there, and I guess I just felt inferior because I was- and still am- always so _weak_."

"Stop it. You're not weak. You are one of the strongest people I know. If anything, I should be jealous," the brunette countered.

"Why?"

"You're not afraid to show how you really feel. As a huntress, I was taught that showing emotion was weak, but they were all wrong. It takes a lot of strength to do that."

"Then I must be really strong because for the past few days, I've been an emotional wreck," I grinned slightly and she shook her head in amusement.

"We'll figure this out. Stiles, the Oni, everything," she assured me.

I pulled her into a hug and she instantly returned it. I could feel the bond I shared with her growing stronger.

We weren't always on the best terms, but right then, in that moment, I felt like she was my sister. Someone I could finally rely on.

"Thank you," I whispered and she tightened her hold.

"Anytime."

* * *

"This is everything non-lethal we could find." Allison and I were carrying suitcases, Derek, the sheriff, and her father following us to the desk.

After getting a very rushed phone call from the hunter to gather all the semi-safe weapons we could find, we wasted no time in raiding their stash.

We opened the cases on the table and everyone gathered around, looking at the large array of things we could use.

"Take all of it," Chris finally decided with a sigh. I opened up the duffle bags and helped my friend put all the weapons in it.

"What's the plan here?" the sheriff pitched in, eyes glued to the long piece of rope I was stuffing in a bag.

"Our best shot right now is for Derek to try to pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House," Chris responded, looking at me. "Especially if he went through something stressful there." I nodded, confirming that something stressful had definitely occurred.

"Should all five of us be going to the same place?" the sheriff asked, eyes narrow.

"Our best shot is to split up," I informed him, placing my palms on the desk. "Stiles has been to more places than the facility."

"Where else has he been showing up?" Chris questioned.

"The hospital, the school," I listed off, the wheels in my brain turning as I tried to think of any possible things we could do to make this process faster.

"Okay, hold on," Derek's voice broke through my thoughts and I looked up at him. "We did this already. He disappeared, we started looking for him, then we walked right into a trap at the hospital."

I sighed in frustration at this as Chris made a revelation. "He's getting us to repeat the same moves."

"So what do we do?" Allison inquired. "Wait for him to come to us?"

"We can't," Derek disagreed. "Not if the Oni find him when the sun goes down."

"Scott's working on them right now, with Kira," the sheriff muttered and I shook my head sadly.

"That's going to take too much time that we don't even have," I confessed softly. "There has to be a way to try and trick him."

"That's the problem," Chris intervened. "We're all trying to outfox the fox."

The room went quiet as we took this information in. Argent had a point that was too strong to overlook. The sheriff sighed, breaking the silence.

"Listen, I understand if anyone wants to back out."

I met eyes with Allison and thought back to our agreement from earlier. She seemed to be doing the same because her eyes shone with a certain type of determination that I hadn't seen before.

"I won't be the first wolf to run from a fox," Derek told us as he grabbed bag off the table, hoisting it over his shoulder.

Chris grabbed a weapon from the table. "Apparently, I'm carrying a lightsaber."

"I've dealt with this thing before," I grabbed throwing knives from the bag confidently. "I'm not scared of it anymore."

Allison grinned at us. "Dad, you and Derek hit Eichen House. The sheriff and I will go to the hospital and Zarina can check their house. We'll meet at the school."

We all nodded in agreement before leaving the apartment, heading to our respective locations. Once I was on the road, I felt anxiety build up in my stomach. I said I wasn't scared, but in reality, I was terrified. Facing the nogitsune in hallucinations was bad, but seeing it in person?

I shook my head, shoving the thought away and pressed harder on the gas pedal. There was no time for that. Not if I wanted to save Stiles.

* * *

I found the extra key in the same spot as it always was and I unlocked the front door, stepping into the quiet house cautiously. I locked the door behind me before exploring the different rooms.

I started with the kitchen. Empty. Then, I moved to the living room. Also empty. As I was walking down the hallway to get back to the foyer of the house, I heard a taunting voice behind me.

"It's you again. Such a woman. Chasing after someone or something that wanted them after they've already moved on."

I slowly turned around to see Stiles standing a few feet away from me, hands linked behind his back as he stared mockingly at me.

"I'm not chasing after you," I spat. "I just want my boyfriend."

"How many times do I have to tell you before it sinks in, sweetheart?" he stepped closer. "He's long gone. Not coming back."

"Maybe you need another shot of wolf lichen to prove just how _true_ that statement is," I replied sarcastically.

"Careful, Zarina," he warned lowly. "Wouldn't want to get too cocky now, considering how I could end his life with just a snap of my fingers."

I went rigid, a lump growing in my throat. The grin on his face widened as my fear escalated and I could almost feel him feeding off of it.

"You can't win this war," Stiles continued, walking up to me slowly. I couldn't move, no matter how desperately I wanted to. "A smart girl like you should see that by now."

"We can try," I said as evenly as possible and he merely laughed maniacally.

"Try?" he mocked. "Oh, I take that back. You're not as smart as you seem. But I'll give you credit for still having hope after so long."

"We'll kill you. No, scratch that, I'll kill you myself," I growled, tensing as he edged ever closer to me.

"Will you? Fine, if you're so sure you can, do it now. Kill me," he stopped suddenly and held out his arms. "I know there are knives somewhere on you, so why don't you just end it now? It'd sure save everyone a lot of trouble."

But looking at him, at _Stiles_, I couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt him, even if I knew that it was the nogitsune I was staring at, not my best friend. He seemed to expect this because he lowered his arms, a smirk replacing the grin on his face.

"That's what I thought. You couldn't hurt Stiles even if you tried," he cooed.

The world started to spin around me and I stumbled slightly on my feet, leaning against the wall for support.

"You're not looking too good. Maybe you should snap out of it."

"What do you…" I trailed off, breathing heavy as my vision blurred.

"Zarina, what's wrong?"

I blinked and I found myself in Stiles' bed, Allison hovering over me, shaking my shoulder gently. I shot up into a sitting position and looked around, Stiles wasn't here.

"Wh-where'd he go? Where'd Stiles go?" I asked frantically, eyes shifting to the three men standing behind my friend, watching the scene play out in concern.

"We saw him in the room through the security cameras we have placed around here," the sheriff explained slowly. "You were already on the bed behind him, so we assumed he'd hurt you. But you weren't even knocked out when we found you. You were in this kind of…blank state, I guess you could call it."

My shoulders slumped and I shut my eyes slowly. What really happened to me? Did what I see even occur or was it just the nogitsune messing with my head? I felt my brain start to pound against my skull as I tried to process this.

"I'm okay," I opened my eyes. "He didn't do anything. Not that I remember, anyways."

I then walked over to the chessboard laid out in the middle of the room suspiciously, the others following in suit after a second of confusion.

"What is all this? What are the sticky notes for?" Chris asked, eyes roaming the board.

"This is how Stiles tried to explain to me about…all of you," the sheriff glanced up at Derek.

"Do you think it could be a message from Stiles?" Allison suggested. "Maybe he's trying to tell us something that the nogitsune wouldn't understand."

I saw Chris pick up a pawn that was knocked off the board. My heart jumped as I saw Isaac's name on the sticky note attached to it.

"Is there any reason my name's on the king?" Derek questioned and I wondered in the back of my mind if he liked chess as well.

"Well, you're heavily guarded," the sheriff explained. "I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate."

"This isn't a message from Stiles," Chris noticed. "This is a threat from the nogitsune."

"He's at the loft," I realized. "That's what he's trying to tell us."

"And he wants us to come there," Chris agreed, nodding.

"Night's falling," Derek added.

"This couldn't seem more like a trap. We can't walk in there blindly, sheriff," Chris argued.

"I don't think it is," Stilinski shook his head.

"I think your opinion might be slightly biased."

The sheriff looked at the hunter pleadingly. "Hear me out. What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason. Right?"

"So what?" Chris questioned reluctantly.

"Out enemy isn't a killer. It's a trickster. The killing is just a byproduct."

"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling so confident about that," Derek remarked.

"It won't," the sheriff disagreed. "It wants irony. It wants to play a trick; it wants a joke. All we need to do it come up with a new punch line."

"Well, the sun is setting, sheriff. What do you have in mind?" Chris met his eye.

"Let's beat him at his own game."

* * *

We waited outside the door of the loft as the sheriff went inside to try and negotiate with Stiles peacefully. I twirled the knife in my hand nervously as Derek kept his ears promptly open to hear for any signs of a struggle coming from inside.

Allison squeezed my wrist comfortingly, sensing my nervousness and I gave her a tiny smile, taking a deep breath in. We had to do this. We had to do something. I watched as Derek's shoulders went stiff and his eyes narrowed at the metal door in front of him. There was something going on inside and based on his body language, it was anything but good.

A soft clank came out of the loft and immediately the four of us marched inside confidently, Allison and I side-by-side. I almost tripped over myself, seeing Stiles standing there in the middle of the room looking as emotionless, yet more insane than ever before.

The bags under his eyes were more prominent than I remembered and I fought the shiver that ran down my spine as his smirking gaze met my slightly faltering confident one.

Stiles tilted his head towards Allison and I as we stopped nearby. The huntress lifted her tazer and pressed the trigger, sending the volts of electricity his way. However, he caught it easily in his hands, the electricity crackling, and stretched the wire angrily before letting it go, causing the gun itself to fling itself out of Allison's hands.

I spun the knife in my hand once before throwing it in his direction, silently apologizing to Stiles for doing that. Again, the nogitsune's reflexes were fast enough to catch the knife just before it hit his face. He stroked the blade teasingly, grinning up at me, before throwing it back in my direction.

I had just barely managed to turn my face so that the blade didn't embed itself in my skull. Still, it did manage to graze my cheek and I felt the warm blood trickle down from the cut.

Derek growled loudly and lunged at him, claws extended and his jaw open wide, exposing his sharp teeth. Stiles' calm façade stayed in place, though. He barely even took a second to think before grabbing Derek by the back of his shirt and slammed him into a metal table, bones cracking as he did so. Then, with a pain filled scream emitting from the beta, Stiles chucked him against the wall with a triumphant smirk on his face.

The wolf was writhing in agony on the floor, but a small click caused all of our attentions to turn towards the sound. Chris had a gun pointed at Stiles wordlessly and I felt my heart stop dead in my chest. No words were said as the tension grew in the air. Chris and Stiles stared each other down and the sheriff raised a hand, trying to mediate the situation.

"Argent, listen to me," he pleaded. "Don't do this."

"Why not?" Chris asked, eyes never leaving the boy. "I've done it before. Werewolves, berserkers. I can easily add a nogitsune to the list."

Another gun clicked and this time it was the sheriff pointing his at the hunter. "You're not going to shoot my son."

"You said it yourself, sheriff," Chris told him. "That is not your son."

"Put it down."

Chris didn't even move.

"_Put it down."_

"Dad," Stiles' voice was soft, almost scared. "He's going to shoot me…he's gonna _kill_ me, dad."

Chris frowned at this. "Don't listen to him."

"Put it down," the sheriff growled again. "Now! Do it! Put it down!"

"Pull the trigger," Stiles looked at the hunter, taunting him. "Come on."

"Listen to me! You put the gun down now!"

"Shoot me," Stiles urged him.

"Put the gun down now!"

"_Shoot me!"_

"_Put the gun down!"_

"**_Shoot me!_**"

"_Argent, you put it down!_"

"Stop!" I flung my body between Stiles and Argent's gun, holding my hand out towards the hunter as I panted.

The blood was still falling down my face, but I paid no mind to it as I looked the hunter dead in the eye.

"This is what he wants! He wants us to fight each other. This is _strife,_" I explained hurriedly as the gun stayed pointed at my face. "This is part of his game. He expected this to happen."

"Not exactly," I turned to Stiles, whose face held a look of fake hurt. "I was kind of hoping Scott would be here, but I'm glad you all have your guns out because you're not here to kill me," he faced the windows and I followed his gaze. Four Oni materialized as the sun went down and Stiles backed up so that we were surrounding him in a sort of defensive barrier. "You're here to protect me."

"Zarina!" Allison tossed me my knife and I caught it, twirling it around before taking a fighting stance.

Chris and the sheriff immediately started to shoot at the things and Allison, Derek, and I worked on the two Oni behind them. I jumped and kicked and stabbed at the Oni blindly, knowing that I had people to back me up. It felt like a dark, colorless blur to me and all I could make out were gunshots and Derek's loud roars.

After a few minutes, they disappeared.

They completely dissipated into thin air, confusion filling the room as we tried to regain our breaths. Derek was on one knee on the floor, chest heaving painfully. I wiped the blood from my cheek as I looked around the room, only to find Stiles gone, as usual.

Just then, Scott and Kira bounded into the room, slowing down once they saw us.

"What happened?" Scott demanded.

Allison sighed shortly. "They disappeared. They literally just _vanished_."

"And so did Stiles," the sheriff added hopelessly.

I saw Scott's face fall considerably as he was given this information. Just like the three other times he'd done it, Stiles had managed to disappear without a trace, leaving everyone else to worry about where the hell he'd gone off.

* * *

I walked into my house begrudgingly, sore and totally drained of any energy I had before. I honestly just wanted to wrap up in a blanket and cry forever, but I decided that I was done with crying. I'd done enough of that in the past few days to last me a lifetime. But the idea of sleep sounded wonderful.

"Zarina?" Alex emerged from the kitchen as I walked by and I stopped, turning to him. "What happened to your face?"

"Well that's something every girl wants to hear," I muttered and he gave me a look. "It was an accident. You know how I like to mess around with knives nowadays." I grimaced as his expression turned to one of horror. That was terrible word choice.

Alex grabbed my arm and led me to the upstairs bathroom, sitting me on the counter. I watched as he took the med-kit from the cabinet and poured alcohol onto a cotton ball. He started to dab it on my face and I grit my teeth to contain my groan of pain.

"Ever since I got you from Eichen House, you've been weird," he told me softly. I said nothing. "You've been jumpier, more paranoid. What happened in there?"

"Stiles is possessed by a demonic fox," I told him, laughing halfheartedly. I didn't even bother to lie or make anything up at this point. I was tired of lying and I was tired of fighting. "And I couldn't stop him in time."

Alex stayed silent as he put a bandage on my cut and stood, taking a small step away from me. I simply sat there, letting him think. A second passed, and I was about to get off the counter, when he spoke.

"I believe you."

My head snapped up and I met his gaze, which was completely serious. He had no hints of skepticism in his eyes nor did he look like he thought I was insane.

"Y-you do?" I breathed out.

"After everything that's happened, I do," he nodded. "I shouldn't have put you in that nuthouse. That was completely out of line and I hope that you don't hate me because I did that."

I smiled lightly. "I don't hate you. You're the only family I have left; how could I?"

He returned my smile and kissed my temple before nudging me off the counter. I shot him one last smile before leaving. I opened the door to my room and squealed as I turned on the lights. Isaac was sitting on my windowsill, eyes blank. I shut the door behind me and walked over to him slowly.

"Isaac? What are you doing here?" I asked and his eyes moved over to me.

"I'm better now," he responded quietly. "I'm all healed."

"Y-yeah, I see that," I gave him a tight-lipped smile. "But why are you coming to me?"

"Because I miss you," his voice was more sincere this time and his lips quirked up in a smile. "I've missed you since that day I left you here alone."

"Stop," I scolded. "We broke up on mutual terms, okay? Don't say that you miss me now."

He stood up and walked closer to me, bending his head so he could look into my eyes. I froze.

"It's true, though. I shouldn't have left you for Allison. That was a mistake." He started inch his head closer to mine, but I stumbled backwards and held my arm out.

"Isaac, snap out of it," I hissed. "You're in love with Allison now, remember? I see the way you look at her and I have Stiles, you know that. What's going on?"

He seemed to break out of whatever trance it was that he was in and he shook his head, taking a shaky breath. Isaac then looked at me weirdly, as if I were the one in his room, and then realized what he'd said and done.

"Whoa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I don't know what happened," he quickly apologized. I sighed in relief and shook my head.

"It's alright," I assured him, but his brows furrowed and he looked at the ground in shame. I went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, making him look back up at me. "Seriously, I understand. Everything's all good."

"You sure?" I nodded and he finally let out a light grin. "Thanks, Ari. I'm gonna go now. Sorry for, uh, this."

He kissed my forehead as I let out a small chuckle and left my room, shutting my window before leaping to the grass below him. I stared at the glass window for a second before rolling my eyes and falling backwards onto my bed.

What was happening to everyone?

* * *

**AN: _Twiddly doo what a confusing chapter. So if you didn't understand that part about Zarina in Stiles' house, she was blacked out while she was in there, meaning she basically hallucinated that entire encounter with nogitsune Stiles, but he was still there messing with her and idk. IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE UGH I TRIED TO BE ALL MYSTERIOUS BUT IDEK. Stuff happened, basically lolol._**

**_Thank you all for the support and love! I love you allll. (While writing the part with Zarina and Allison bonding time, I was listening to 'Start of Time by Gabrielle Aplin'. It's so pretty and lovely and it played during the Stydia kiss. FEELS.)_**

**_Please review/fave/follow if you enjoyed this chapter! It's a great motivator.  
Tumblr: sstuhlinski_**

**_xx._**


	12. Twelve

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple walk around the neighborhood. It was something I did to clear my mind, but all it did was cause even more confusion to enter my system. My mind was totally blank the entire time, my footsteps the only thing I could hear. The fresh air blew my hair around my face and I didn't bother to brush it away because I enjoyed the feeling it gave me.

Then, I suddenly stopped in my tracks, observing the scenery around me. I was definitely not in my neighborhood anymore. I wasn't even close to my house; instead, I was in an abandoned parking lot. No cars were there that I could see, but I saw a body laying still a few yards away.

"Stiles?" I called out, recognizing his form as I sprinted over to him and crouched beside him. "Stiles, oh my god."

I shook him frantically, feeling a weird mixture of concern and bewilderment. What was he doing here of all places? I let my eyes wander down his body and when I saw the giant, bloody gash in his side, my heart picked up pace. I heard a car drive up behind me and I swiveled my head to find Lydia and Aiden rushing out the doors of the fancy vehicle.

"Zarina? Is that Stiles?" Lydia yelled out and I nodded, pursing my lips.

"Help me get him in the car! We have to get him to Scott's house!" I responded and Aiden immediately came to us, hefting Stiles over his shoulder as gently as possible.

He led me over to the car and I got into the backseat, laying Stiles' head on my lap. Aiden and Lydia filed into their seats and the car lurched as we headed for the McCall house. My hand stroked my boyfriend's hair soothingly as I glanced up at Lydia through her mirror.

"How'd you find us?" I asked quietly.

"Something's up with me, Z," she admitted. "I'm hearing things that I shouldn't be hearing. I found you guys because I followed what I heard the GPS saying, but it wasn't even on."

"Weird," I muttered, eyes shifting back to Stiles' pale face.

"Is he…dead?" Aiden turned his head to look at us.

"No," I snapped. "That's not gonna happen."

The omega merely raised a skeptical eyebrow before turning back around, not even bothering to respond to my retort. I was glad that he didn't. I wasn't in the mood to argue, not when so many things seemed to be going wrong for us. I then pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Scott.

_Wait outside your house. We have something you need to see._

* * *

Scott, Deaton, and Aiden all lugged Stiles body into the living room. Melissa was following closely behind, face contorted in anxiety.

"The couch, put him on the couch," she instructed them. "Guys, this is crazy. He needs to be in the hospital." They lowered him onto the couch so he was sitting upright, head tilted backwards onto the cushions.

Scott looked at her over his shoulder. "Mom, remember what happened last time he went to a hospital?"

Deaton lifted his shirt to inspect the wound further, but it seemed to be healing. It wasn't as large as it was when I first found him and that meant that something was going on inside his body.

"It doesn't look like he's bleeding. He might even be healing," Deaton told us and my brows furrowed.

"You mean healing like we heal?" Aiden offered.

"That's good, right?" Scott added, voice hopeful.

Deaton looked at the possessed boy. "For him, yes. For us…I'm not so sure."

I stared at Stiles quietly. His wound healed, yes, but his physical self in general seemed to be getting even worse by the second. He looked like he was terminally ill, his skin pallid and his eyes nursing dark bags under them.

"Then we need some way to make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous. Keep him still somehow," I suggested.

"She's right," Aiden agreed. "If we're not going to kill him, why aren't we tying him down with chains or something?"

"I have something more effective," Deaton informed us whilst pulling out a small, brown bottle. He gestured for Scott and Aiden to open Stiles' mouth and they did, making sure to hold his shoulders down as well.

As soon as Deaton squeezed a few drops into his mouth, Stiles' eyes shot open menacingly, immediately grabbing the first person he could find: Aiden. His hand gripped the wolf's neck, choking him as he let out an evil laugh.

He was actually enjoying his pain and I felt sick to my stomach. I pulled Aiden away from him by the arm as Scott pushed our friend backwards. Then, Stiles froze. His arm, then his entire body as he went slack onto the couch.

"Kanima venom, nice touch," he hissed uncomfortably as the effects took place. Aiden pulled away from my grasp and growled at him, taking a step closer.

"You know how they say that twins get a feeling when the other one's in pain? You didn't lose that talent too, did you? Oh, I hope not. You're going to need it," Stiles' mouth quirked up into a grin as he taunted Aiden. "Okay, I'll give you a hint. Ethan's at the school."

The former Alpha looked at Scott, who commanded him, "Go."

"Don't get hurt," I called out after him as he left the house and Stiles tilted his head back, laughing evilly.

"Oh, I hope he gets there in time. I like the twins," he mused. "Short tempers, homicidal compulsions. They're a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world everyday."

"Doc, you brought something to paralyze his body. You got anything for his mouth?" Melissa spoke up, having had enough of his smart mouth.

"Yes, I do," Deaton nodded.

He pulled out a roll of electrical tape and ripped a long piece off, strapping it on top of Stiles' mouth. He let out a loud shout under the tape before bursting into peals of maniacal laughter. Everything about this situation seemed off, and I was going to try and figure it out.

* * *

I was cleaning off Stiles' wound with alcohol after Melissa had stormed out of the room, obviously upset with the boy. I made sure to rub extra hard, trying to take out all my frustrations on the thing that'd caused them all.

"Ouch, so rough," Stiles said and my head shot up. I forgot to put the stupid tape back on. "But it's okay, you can be as rough as you want. This is your boyfriend's body, after all."

I growled and pushed harder on the cotton ball in my hand, alcohol oozing off of it with the pressure. After I finished, I threw the cotton ball into the first aid kit and started unwrapping gauze to wrap around his wound.

"You have to hear him," he continued gleefully. "He keeps telling me to leave you alone. No, actually, it's more along the lines of begging."

"Shut up," I barked out, squeezing the gauze in my hands tightly. "I will put that tape back on your mouth, I swear."

"I'm aware, but don't forget what I told you before, sweetheart. I can kill this boy and who knows? The way you've been acting, I might do just that," he threatened with a smirk and I knew he saw the way my hands were shaking around the gauze.

"What do you want?" I squeaked out, trying to keep my voice level.

"I want war. I want pain, strife, chaos."

I shook my head slowly, completely at a loss for what to even say at that point. I was tired of this nogitsune ruining our lives. So I decided to say nothing. I set the gauze down and stood, turning on my heel to leave.

"You won't win," his voice made me stop in my tracks abruptly. "You'll lose everything. Your friends. Your family. Stiles. _Everything_."

I whipped back around, grabbing the piece of tape from the table angrily. I plastered it back over his mouth and simply stood there for a moment, looking down at him. Then I turned back around and left the room, bumping into Melissa on my way out.

"Honey, are you okay?" she asked, observing my teary eyes and stiff posture.

I shook my head and let out a small whimper. She pulled me into a motherly hug and I let her, melting into her warmth.

"W-We're losing him," my voice quivered slightly and I felt her shake her head.

"No, we're not. He's just trying to make you think that," she assured me gently. "Go take a break, I can finish taking care of him, alright?" Melissa held me at arms length and I nodded, smiling tightly.

"Thank you."

"Of course. Now, go. Scott could use your help," Melissa returned my smile before walking towards the couch, finishing Stiles' bandages.

As I was walking towards Scott and Lydia, the doorbell rang and Scott nodded over at me, signaling me to answer it. I turned the knob and swung the door open to reveal Peter Hale standing on the other side, smirk on his face.

"You have got to be kidding me."

We moved to the living room after I recovered from my disbelief, staring down at Stiles as Peter circled him, eyeing the boy critically.

"He doesn't look like he could survive a slap across the face," Peter admitted as he walked in front of us. "Much less the bite of a werewolf." He crouched in front of Stiles, making eye contact with him.

"You don't think it would work," Scott said more as a statement than a question.

"This is more a war of the mind than the body," Peter informed him.

"So, what does that mean?" I questioned, stepping up to Peter's side while Scott stood at his other.

"There are better methods of winning this battle," he replied, standing straight again.

"What kind of methods?" Deaton inquired, uncrossing his arms.

Peter responded by grabbing Scott's wrist and flicking it, causing his claws to emerge. Stiles turned his head towards them and raised his eyebrows, acting impressed.

"We're going to get into his head," Peter finished with a small grin.

* * *

I eyed Lydia and Peter from the corner of my eye as they talked quietly in the hallway. I didn't like how secretive they were being and I definitely didn't like how she was even making any sort of contact with the man who turned the two of us into what we were. After a few minutes, they walked back into the living room.

"So, do we have a plan?" Deaton asked, arms crossed.

"Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly evil Stiles' mind to unearth pale and sickly real Stiles," Peter explained. "Then guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious."

"Sounds like a really bad exorcism movie to me," I muttered and Scott nudged my ribs with his elbow warningly.

"Ah, you didn't let me finish," Peter gave me a pointed look. "He's not going to do it alone."

I gulped, anticipating what he was going to say, but Scott didn't get it. "What do you mean?"

"Somebody needs to go in with you," his gaze stayed locked on me and I went stiff as Stiles' eyebrows rose in amusement, staring at me as well.

* * *

I sat on the couch besides Stiles, keeping as much distance between the two of us as possible. Scott stood behind the couch and Deaton and Melissa watched as Peter positioned his claws behind our necks.

"So what do we do if we find him?" Scott asked uneasily.

"You're gonna have to guide him out somehow," Peter replied vaguely and I rolled my eyes. "Try to give him back control of his mind and his body."

"Could you elaborate on the somehow?" I insisted, a lump growing in my throat. "Because this doesn't seem very clear right now."

"Improvise," Peter shrugged and I breathed out shakily, eyes wide.

"What if this is just another trick?" Scott offered.

"When are you people gonna start trusting me?"

"Never," I added under my breath, but Scott ignored me.

"I meant him," he looked down at Stiles and Peter let out a small 'oh'.

"Scott," Deaton interrupted and he looked up. "We're running out of time."

All I could hear was Scott's deep breathing and I didn't even have time to prepare when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck. I went tense, flinching as the pain shot down my spine and up to my brain all in one fluid motion.

My eyes fluttered closed as the world around me shook, flashing black and white. The shaking and multi-colored images stopped once I reopened my eyes. This time, I was in one of the rooms of Eichen House, strapped down to a bed tightly.

I lifted my head from the pillow and looked at Scott, who was restrained the same exact way I was. We simply stared at each other for a few moments before starting to struggle against the bonds. I gave up after a few futile tries, but Scott continued to pull at his arms harshly.

"Scott, you do realize you're a werewolf, right?" I looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"We're in Stiles' head," he responded weakly.

"And you turn into a wolf. With claws and supernatural strength," I shot back. "You can do this."

He nodded slightly before turning his head away from me. Scott grunted as he concentrated on pulling at his upper body. Within a few seconds, the leather straps broke off and he sat up, looking relieved as ever. He looked at me and I nodded, laughing slightly in approval.

Scott ripped off my restraints and threw them on the ground. I swung my legs off the bed and rubbed my wrists as I stood next to my best friend, eyes wandering around the room.

"What now?" he asked.

"I don't know, I've never been in someone else's head before," I replied.

"Just stay behind me," he began to walk towards the door and I did what I was told, two steps behind him.

The door swung open, squeaking as it did so, and he stepped through it, looking behind him at me to make sure I was there. Before I could follow him inside, the door shut loudly. I started to bang on it with my fist desperately.

"Scott!" I yelled, trying to turn the doorknob. "Scott, come back!"

I heard a click behind me and I let go of the knob, turning around slowly. The room was now empty, small cracks of light emerging from the walls. In the darkness, I could faintly make out leaves falling from the ceiling. After that, multiple leaves started to fall onto my head and everywhere else in the room. I looked up to find the source, but all I saw was more nothing.

I closed my eyes to shut it out, but when I reopened them I was standing in front of my house, the trees around me shedding their leaves as the autumn air blew past them. I was in the cement walkway wearing a familiar dress that I used to wear all the time when I was younger.

The dress was floral and mid-thigh and it always made me feel more adult when I wore it. But there was something else about it. It was the dress I wore on the day they died. I didn't wear or look at it since.

"Mom, dad?" I called out, bursting into the house worriedly. "MOM! DAD!"

My voice echoed in the empty house, bouncing off the walls. My footsteps slowed as my head moved back and forth, searching for any signs of them. I froze in my spot when I heard a scratching sound in the kitchen to my right.

I slowly looked over and saw the nogitsune carving something into the wood of our countertop. I gasped, trying to stop the tears from coming and it heard me, looking up from its drawing and at me.

I turned and started to run when I heard the door slam. I whirled around and faced the nogitsune as it stalked in my direction. I shakily walked backwards up the steps, the nogitsune following me slowly, and the knife was still in its hands.

All I could do was hurry up the steps, not daring to turn away from it. My hand gripped the rail like a lifeline. I flinched away as the demon let out a roar that pierced my ears and shook the floor beneath me.

**"ZARINA!"**

A loud voice overlapped the nogitsune's roar and I snapped out of my fear-induced trance, throwing my arms over my head as I whirled around, sprinting up the stairs two steps at a time. I whimpered as I ran, stumbling multiple times, but not looking behind my shoulder once.

I finally reached the top step and I immediately hurried for my room. I burst through the door and entered a familiar bright white room. I slowed to a walk as my eyes adjusted to the light, looking around. The door was gone and the room seemed to stretch on for miles, white pillars everywhere.

Then, I saw the nemeton ahead of me, two figures sitting ontop of it with a board between them. Scott ran up behind me and I looked at him before turning my head back to the two people.

The two of us wordlessly started to walk up to them, but then it turned into a run as we realized that one of the people was Stiles. However, the more we ran, the further they seemed to get. Eventually, we skidded to a stop.

"Stiles!" Scott yelled out.

"Stiles! Stiles, over here!" I waved my arms in the air wildly, but he didn't acknowledge us.

We started to run again, but we didn't even seem to be halfway there. The two of us stopped once more, hands on our knees as we caught our breaths.

"Stiles is part of the pack, right?" I breathed out.

"What? What do you mean?" Scott looked at me curiously.

"He's human, but he's still part of the pack," I clarified.

Scott and I straightened up, eyes locked on our best friend. "Yeah, yeah, of course."

"So how do wolves communicate to their pack?" I finished smugly, looking up at the werewolf.

He looked back at me and my lips quirked up in a grin. My eyes flicked to the nogitsune, who noticed our presence. I then turned back to Scott, whose face was completely wolfed out. His eyes flowed red and his fangs protruded from his mouth as he responded to my question.

"They howl."

A loud growl emitted from his mouth and I watched with awe as Stiles finally looked at us, eyes bright with recognition. He then moved his gaze back to the nogitsune as he swiped the game pieces off the board forcefully. In response, the demon roared in anger and I felt myself return to my real body.

I opened my eyes and took a large intake of air, holding the back of my neck as I got to my feet shakily.

"It didn't work," Scott hurried to Stiles. "It didn't work!"

"What happened?" I asked, looking at the adults.

"Why didn't it work?" Lydia added worriedly from behind me.

Peter grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "Because it's not science, Lydia, it's supernatural. I did my part now give me the name."

"What name?" Scott stood, turning them questioningly. "What are you talking about?" But Peter ignored him, pulling Lydia into the other room with him urgently.

The two of us glanced at each other before staring at the two suspiciously. I saw Lydia lean in towards his ear, hesitating before saying a simple word. As soon as the word left her lips, Stiles started to freak out from his place on the couch.

Scott and I backed up as he ripped the tape off his mouth, pulling out a long piece of gauze. Stiles fell to his knees, still pulling out the white tape and we all watched in disgust as he started to throw it all up, a black cloud of powder coming out of his mouth as he did so.

Once it was all out, Stiles gagged over it over a second before shooting himself backwards toward the couch as a hand came out of the gauze. A wrapped head came out soon afterwards and we all took a large step backwards as it pulled its whole body out, standing right in front of us.

It looked at its hand for a second before trying to lunge at us. I let out a small scream as Lydia, Melissa, and I fell onto the chairs behind us, Deaton holding us back. Peter and Scott pushed the thing onto a chair as it struggled.

"Hold him!" Peter gritted out.

"I'm trying!" Scott yelled back, voice strained.

The wrapping started to come of the figure's head as it struggled and Peter was about to do something when Scott stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he cried out and I stood up, taking a few steps closer to them as Scott fully unwrapped the person's head.

Once he finished, I was standing beside him and Scott froze, moving his hand away from Stiles' disheveled head in shock. Stiles sat up straighter on the chair, eyes watery as he looked up at the two of us.

"Scott? Zarina?" Stiles said between heavy breaths, eyes shifting to the other people in the room.

"Scott," Deaton said and the two of us turned to him as faced the- now open- door. I looked around the room and finally realized the absence of two people.

"Where are they?" Scott choked out and Deaton shook his head. "Where are they?!" He pushed past his mother and the vet and headed out the door.

"Lydia? Lydia! LYDIA!"

* * *

**AN: _Sorry for the long wait! So much laziness and this chapter was hard to write in terms of accuracy and getting the exact image I wanted, yeknow? I hope it wasn't as horrible as I think it is. LOL. _**

_**Thanks so much for the support and love, as always. Means too much to me and I can't physically type it because it wouldn't do my feelings any justice. But please try and continue to review/fave/follow if you enjoyed! Helps get these done quicker knowing that you guys like it (:  
**_

_**Tumblr: newtsmccalls (got a new url because the maze runner is making me feel things *sigh*)**_

_**xx.**_


	13. Thirteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I sat at the edge of Scott's bed, watching as Melissa waved a flashlight over Stiles' lifeless eyes. I bit my lip as I eyed my boyfriend. I felt like it couldn't possibly be real, that he would just disappear before my eyes, but he didn't and I didn't know how to feel about that.

She clicked off the flashlight and set it down, Stiles' fingers tapping on his forearm urgently as he looked at her, head tilting downwards on the pillow. Melissa went to grab one of his arms, but froze before she could, reluctant and scared to face him after what the nogitsune had done to everyone.

With a small sigh, Stiles lifted his arm for her and she slowly wrapped her fingers around his pulse as he pursed his lips and looked at me. I gave him a small smile of reassurance and he seemed to calm down.

"Well," Melissa breathed out, setting his arm down, "medically, you seem okay. You're definitely a real person." We all laughed slightly, nervously.

"Kay, so I'm real, but am I really me?" Stiles asked, lifting his head from the pillow a little to look at her.

I instinctively grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Once. Twice. Three times. He shifted his eyes to me and gave me a tiny smile of thanks. He sat up on the bed and I whirled around as Scott walked into the room.

"She here?" Stiles questioned him and he nodded with a slight shrug.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's do this," he decided and I looked at the two McCalls, worry in all of our eyes.

"Stiles, are you sure? Please don't risk this, not when we just got you back," I begged him.

"We have to do this, Z."

And that was all he said before gripping my hand and leading us all downstairs. Scott took his other arm for support as we entered the living room, where Kira's mother was already standing, a serious look adorning her face.

"Do you recognize me?" she looked straight at Stiles and we let go of him as he nodded, approaching her slowly. Then, Kira burst through the door and rushed up to her mother.

"Stop!" she said quickly.

"It's okay," Stiles continued to limp towards the two and I clenched my hands into fists. "I'm the one who asked her to come."

"You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords," Kira shot back and I silently agreed. "Mom, don't do this to him."

"It's already done," Noshiko announced as an Oni materialized in the corner of the room. Another one appeared next to it and I let out a scream as they surrounded Stiles, one of the Oni's hands positioned behind his ear.

"NO!" I screeched and Scott held me back, wrapping his arms around my waist as the green glow shone from the Oni's eyes.

It let go of Stiles after a second, sending him straight to the floor, shivering. I broke free from Scott's grip and knelt next to Stiles cradling his head in my lap. He let out small grunts as his body convulsed and I shushed him gently as I brushed his hair back.

"Look behind his ear," Noshiko commanded and Kira and Scott knelt beside me as I checked.

"It worked," Scott sighed out in relief.

"Am I actually me?" Stiles stuttered out, pushing himself up to look at Kira's mother.

"More you than the nogitsune," she admitted.

"Can the Oni find him?" I asked softly, brows furrowed in concern as I eyed Stiles.

"Tomorrow night," she told us. "It's too close to dawn now."

Stiles let out an irritated breath and I rubbed his back as he continued his line of questioning. "Can they kill him?"

"It depends on how strong he is."

"What about Lydia? Why would he take her?" Scott pitched in.

"It'd only take her for an advantage."

"You mean her power?" he offered.

"The power of a banshee," she nodded solemnly.

* * *

When the three of us entered the sheriff's office, Stilinski was searching around for something, his hands digging into his pockets and jacket in annoyance.

"Ah, if I could just find my keys," he mumbled, fiddling with the jacket some more.

"In your coffee cup," Stiles said and his father looked up at him, shock written all over his face. Stiles motioned towards said cup. "You always drop them in your empty cup."

The sheriff stepped towards us unsurely, looking at Scott and I quickly. The two of us nodded slowly to ensure him that this was indeed Stiles, not the nogitsune. With that reassurance, he dropped his jacket and embraced his son tightly.

"Hey, dad," Stiles muttered into his shoulder.

Stilinski looked happier than ever as he pulled away, glancing at the two of us again. "Is it over?"

"Not yet," Scott informed him grimly.

"It has Lydia," I explained tersely. "It just took her and we have no idea where she is."

The sheriff pursed his lips, deep in thought. "Alright, I'll see what we can do."

He then walked out of the room purposefully and the three of us sent each other tired looks. I plopped down on the seat in front of the sheriff's desk and Stiles and Scott leaned against it, the two of them fiddling with something anxiously. I felt my leg bounce up and down and I knew immediately that I couldn't just sit and wait any longer. I'd go insane if I did.

"We got an APB out on Lydia's car. Every unit on the road is looking for her," the sheriff told us as he reentered the room.

"Can we help somehow?" I immediately inquired, my voice desperate. "Anything at all?"

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do right now," he confessed hesitantly and I slumped in my seat.

Stiles stood straighter and looked at him. "He took her for a reason, dad. Look, if we can find out why, maybe we can figure out the where."

"Okay," the sheriff did a precautionary glance behind him before continuing. "Why would a nogitsune need a banshee?"

"Banshees can tell when a death is about to occur," I suggested.

"Lydia's pretty good at finding dead bodies. Maybe he needs to find a body?" Stiles added.

The sheriff averted his eyes to Scott. "You know more about this than all of us."

"Me?" Scott repeated, surprised.

"You said you got the whole story from Noshiko." Something about that sentence made recognition flood my brain, but I didn't know what triggered it.

The wolf shook his head, "Yeah, but that happened during World War II. Like 70 years ago."

Stiles froze as the recognition hit him as well. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Noshiko told me about the internment camp-"

"No, before that," I corrected urgently.

"The whole story," Stiles muttered and we looked at each other, eyes wide with understanding.

_I really think I should tell them. They're going to want to know the story. The whole story._

"Meredith," I realized as the voice echoed in my head and he nodded.

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Scott intervened, confused.

"There's a girl at Eichen House. Her name's Meredith. We think she might be able to help," Stiles clarified.

A few minutes later, Parrish came into the office and we turned to him expectantly.

"Sheriff, Meredith Walker," he said.

"She still there?" Stilinski asked.

"Yes, but she's been moved to the closed unit."

Stiles and I both went rigid. The closed unit was for the completely insane people. Why would Meredith be there?

"Why?" Stiles voice my thoughts shakily.

"The said she had behavioral issues."

"What issues?" I persisted, looking the deputy dead in the eye.

He glanced around the room before replying. "She wouldn't stop screaming."

* * *

I was sleeping on the couch with Stiles, our arms wrapped around each other as I tried to keep his freezing body warm. My head was buried in his chest and I felt more at ease than I had in a really long time. Even with his constant shivering and his restless tossing and turning, it felt good to be in his arms again.

My body was suddenly flung off the couch and I landed on the hardwood floor with a loud 'oomph' as Stiles staggered to his feet heavily. I recovered from my shock and caught up to him groggily. I pushed him backwards cautiously, stopping him in his tracks.

"Calm down, it's alright!" I promised him, voice cracking with sleep, and he stopped moving suddenly as my hands moved to his face. "You're safe with me." I ignored the frigid skin under my hands as I tried to ease his nerves.

"Wh-what going on? How long were we asleep?" his eyes flitted around frantically. "God, I-I'm sorry, I totally pushed you off the couch. That looked like it hurt."

I laughed lightly and started pushing him backwards, my hands positioning themselves on his chest. "It was only a few hours. You needed rest, Stiles. Just sit down, okay? For me?"

"Where's my dad?" he asked reluctantly.

"He's still at Eichen House. Everyone's out looking for Meredith because she took off from the facility. He's safe though, I promise."

His hands shook as I finally got him to sit on the couch. "What about the others?"

"They're all looking for Lydia, too. Allison and Isaac are searching for her car and the twins are trying to get her scent to follow her from there. They're going to call if anything happens," I explained, kneeling in front of him.

"Thank you…I'm sorry," he shook his head. "It's just starting to feel like we're waiting for a ransom call." Stiles grabbed his jacket and stood up, wrapping it around his torso.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I don't know why, but I just can't seem to get warm."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and flinched at how suddenly colder he felt compared to a few minutes ago.

"Scott!" I called out worriedly and he was in the room within seconds as I sat Stiles back down. "He's freezing. Literally."

Scott walked towards our friend and touched his hand, immediately recoiling as the black veins shot up his arm.

"Where are you feeling the pain from?" he sat on Stiles' other side.

"Sort of everywhere. It's just like this dull ache."

Scott glanced at me and I shook my head shortly. We knew Stiles. He was downplaying the pain he felt because he didn't want to worry us. But by doing that, he was practically screaming that he was the opposite of okay.

I rubbed his hands between mine and I licked my lips. "It's worse than a dull ache, isn't it?" He didn't say anything and I groaned inwardly. "Stiles-"

I was cut off by Scott's phone vibrating. He immediately answered it and told us it was Kira before greeting her. After a few minutes of talking to the kitsune, he hung up and looked at us determinedly.

"She found Meredith. She's at the school and we have to go. Like right now."

* * *

The three of us burst into the school, sprinting past the oncoming students and twisting our way through the hallways. We saw Kira down the hall and skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Where's Meredith?" Scott asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I can't find Coach, either. The guys from the mental hospital are already here, we have to hurry."

I shut my eyes and felt that long-forgotten, yet familiar burning sensation behind my eyes as I looked into the future. I could see the faint outline of someone bent over the piano and another figure, a taller, masculine one, was stalking up towards him or her, a bolt of electricity buzzing from the tazer in his hand.

My eyes shot open and my three friends were looking at me expectantly, though Kira -who had yet to see me have a vision- looked puzzled.

"They're in the music room," I informed them quickly. "Brunski's going to be there and he has a tazer."

With that, we took off in the direction of the music room, stumbling down the stairs as we did so. Once we pushed open the doors and got inside the room, we saw Coach standing over Brunski, the tazer in his possession. The four of us stopped beside him and shared an amused look as we put the puzzle pieces together.

"You go, Coach," I praised him. "He was kind of a dick."

Finstock simply rolled his eyes. "Well? Get her out of here!"

He gestured to Meredith and we grabbed her arms, pulling her out of the school with us. Stiles herded us all into his jeep, but Kira stayed behind.

"I'll call you," she promised Scott before running off in a separate direction.

The three of us all looked at Meredith. "Okay, where's Lydia?" Stiles interrogated.

She glanced between us before responding, "Who's Lydia?"

We shared a quick look before Stiles started up his car and sped down the street. Beside me, Meredith looked extremely uncomfortable and I felt almost bad for her. This whole thing must've been totally odd for her.

"Where are we going?" I called out over the sound of the engine.

"My house!" Scott answered simply and I didn't bother to question it further.

The three of us rushed her into the back door of the house, only to find Isaac and Agent McCall occupying the kitchen, causing us to freeze in our places.

"What are you doing here?" Scott shot at him.

"I could ask you the same thing," his eyes wandered over us while Isaac merely sat there innocently.

"Um, free period. We're doing a group study," Stiles lied nervously.

McCall looked skeptical as he caught sight of Meredith. "Who's she?"

Stiles grimaced and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "She's my girlfriend."

I narrowed my eyes incredulously and turned my head slowly towards him, pushing my tongue into my cheek. He sent me a small apologetic smile in return, but his arm didn't move. My eyes rolled so hard that I felt like they were going to fall out.

"You're not my type," Meredith informed him, pulling away and I couldn't hide my snort.

"Well, obviously we have a lot to talk about," Stiles scratched the back of his neck.

"Clearly their relationship has some…issues," I supplied dully. "We should probably figure this all out upstairs."

Meredith then saw Isaac and smiled. "He's my type." I bit my lip to keep my laughter from bubbling out as Isaac's face twisted in shock.

"Okay, uh, Isaac can come too," Stiles agreed.

"We'll just be upstairs," I shot the agent a small wink before hauling Isaac to his feet and taking them all up to Scott's room.

Once we had Meredith seated on the bed, I turned to Stiles, one eyebrow raised. He sent me a cheeky smile and an –admittedly, adorable- shrug.

"I love you?" he offered weakly. I sighed and shook my head in amusement, kneeling in front of Meredith.

"Hey, you remember me? I was there at Eichen House. Do you think maybe you could help us? We're looking for someone. Her name's Lydia. Does that ring any bells?" I cooed as warmly as possible.

Meredith thought for a moment. "Lydia? You mean the red-haired girl?"

Stiles and Isaac got closer. "Yes! Good, awesome. Progess. Now, all you have to do is tell us where she is."

She nodded timidly. "Okay…but only if she tells me."

"If she tells you?" Isaac questioned. "Uh, can you ask her?"

"I already did," the girl seemed quite proud of herself.

"Perfect, perfect. What did she say?" Stiles persisted eagerly.

"She said….she doesn't want to be found."

I let out a small noise. "That's way less perfect." I got to my feet with a sigh and grabbed the two boy's arms, leading them into Scott's bathroom. "Group meeting."

"Any ideas?" Stiles whispered, leaning against the sink.

"Maybe we can threaten her," Isaac offered.

The two of us looked at him in disbelief. "Isaac, we're not going to torture her," Stiles shot him down, rolling his eyes.

"I mean just…scare her," he tried to fix himself.

"We're not going to psychologically torture her, either!"

"Fine," Isaac conceded with a groan.

"Look, she can hear things, alright? Just like Lydia does. Shouldn't that mean something? Maybe she's a banshee," I reasoned, pursing my lips.

Stiles hesitated, but nodded and brought us back over to Meredith. He knelt before her and started to talk slowly. "Okay, just try to focus on the sounds around you. On what you're hearing." Meredith nodded. "Just focus on the silence."

"Listen to the silence," Isaac added.

"Focusing on the silence."

"Listening…to the silence."

I rubbed my temples as I listened to the two idiots. "Okay, will you just let me handle this, Isaac? Please?" Stiles looked over his shoulder at him in irritation. "I just…I have more experience with banshees."

"Yeah," Isaac shrugged. "And mental patients."

"Okay!" I snapped loudly. "Both of you. Shut up before I literally throw myself out the window." I let out a shaky breath as I tried to recompose myself.

"Isn't anyone going to get that?" Meredith said suddenly and our attention turned to her.

"Get what?" I asked softly.

"The phone."

"What phone?" Stiles prodded with a confused glance.

"The phone," Isaac played along, tapping Stiles' arm.

"Right, the phone. My phone? Yes," Stiles put his pone to his ear. "Hello? Yeah, she's right here, actually." He handed Meredith the phone. "It's for you."

She took it and put it to her ear. The three of us leaned closer as she went silent, eventually handing the phone back to Stiles. "They say…. coup de foudre."

A pang shot through my brain, making me stumble backwards. I knew that phrase. The boys didn't seem to notice this as they interrogated her further.

"Coup the what?" Stiles tried to figure it out. "What is that, Spanish?"

"Coup de foudre," I repeated slowly, my mind returning to my time alone in Eichen House, locked in the confinement cell. "It's French."

"She's right," Scott's voice made us all whip around to face him. His face on its own was enough to show that he knew where Lydia was. "We have to go."

* * *

**AN: _HI. Sorry it's been a while. A lot has been going on. I know this chapter sucks and all, but I really just feel so stressed out, yknow? Next chapter will definitely make up for this suckiness, I promise!_**

**_Thank you all for waiting so long and for keeping up the love and support. I feel extra bad for making the wait so long, but I'm glad to be back. I just needed a tiny break, but I'm back again! _**

**_Please continue to review/follow/fave if you enjoyed. Even if this chapter was terrible, it helps haha. Love you all!  
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**_xx._**


	14. Fourteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

The four of us sat in an uncomfortable silence as Stiles drove towards Oak Creek. My leg bounced up and down in my seat as I willed the car to go faster. I wanted Lydia to be safe more than anything else at that point. Not only that, but Stiles was only looking worse with each passing second.

"Alright, I'm going to say it. You look like you're dying," Isaac voiced my thoughts and I promptly kicked his leg. "You're pale, think, and you look ike you're getting worse. And we're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he going to look like he's getting better?"

"Isaac," I hissed warningly.

"Someone had to say it," he retorted honestly.

"What happens if he's hurt?" Scott glanced over at Stiles, whose eyes were fastened on the road.

"You mean if he dies, do I die? I don't care. Just so long as no one else dies because of me," he said.

"Stop thinking like that," I somehow managed to speak through the ever-growing lump in my throat.

"It's true. It's my fault. I remember everything I did, Zarina. I remember causing all this pain for you; I remember pushing the sword into Scott. I remember twisting," he argued, and I could see the plain guilt clouding his eyes.

"It wasn't you," Scott disagreed without hesitation.

"Yeah, but I remember it. You guys have to promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me," he pleaded. Scott turned his head to me and I pursed my lips before nodding with him.

Once we reached Oak Creek, Allison and Kira met us at the gates and our group stood in an anxious silence. I felt my eyes burning and I knew it that a vision was trying to appear, but I pushed it back as best as I could. I didn't want to think about the future, I wanted to act on the now. But still, part of me was screaming that this vision was incredibly important and that I shouldn't just shrug it off. I did anyways.

"We've done this before guys," Scott spoke up. "A couple of weeks ago, we were standing around just like this and we saved Maia, remember?" We all nodded in agreement. "That was a total stranger. This is Lydia."

Allison and I met eyes, our expressions both set in one of pure determination. "We're here to save our best friend."

"I came to save mine," Scott agreed, glancing at Stiles.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework," Isaac shrugged nonchalantly.

With that, we all entered through the gates, but were soon met with Noshiko and the Oni. I mentally cursed myself. We should've been prepared for this. It was nighttime; of course the Oni would show up.

"We'll keep them busy. Go find Lydia," Allison ordered.

The three of us hesitated, but Scott recovered first, pushing us into the building. Our footsteps reverberated off the empty hallway walls and we stopped to allow Scott some time to listen for Lydia.

"She's here," Scott nodded, walking down the corridor. "This way."

We weaved through the empty looking basement and hurried down the steps that lead towards a light-filled area that was blocked off by bars. Lydia hurried up to us, holding the gate tightly.

"Lydia, are you okay?" I questioned worriedly.

"No, no, no. Why are you here?" she sounded completely broken, but Scott ignored her as he tried to pry open the doors.

"Lydia, we're here for you," Stiles explained, puzzled.

"You weren't supposed to be here," Lydia insisted. "Did you get my message?" I felt my heart start to accelerate as Lydia's eyes pooled with tears.

"Lydia, what's happening?" Scott asked, letting go of the metal door.

"Who else is here? Who came with you? _Who else is here?_" she looked between the three of us hysterically.

"All of us," I admitted. "We all came to find you."

The blood drained from her face and I didn't like the fear that was present in her expression. "We have to get out of here. Now. Hurry."

We helped her out and rushed down the long corridor that looked vaguely familiar to me. Scott was further ahead from us and I felt Stiles start to slump beside me.

"Zarina….Z-Zarina, I can't," Stiles went rigid, leaning against the wall and his face contorted in pain.

I caught him by the arms and lowered him to the ground, leaning him against the wall as the freezing temperature of his body shot up my arms. I rubbed his shoulders to warm him and Lydia stop beside me, Scott already too far ahead to noticed we weren't with him.

I did my best to warm him, keeping my body draped over his, but he didn't seem to be getting any better at all. I willed my hands to heat up, and it took a while since I hadn't used it in so long, but it worked and I moved my hands to his face. Then, Lydia screamed.

"_ALLISON!"_

The burning I'd held back behind my eyes burst through my mental wall and my vision was filled with images of the Oni thrusting its sword into Allison's torso. She went shock still for a second, her mouth wide open in terror as it retracted the sword, sending her body to the ground.

As the vision faded away, I let out a heart-wrenching scream, letting the tears free fall from my eyes as I dug my face into Stiles' shoulder. My sobs wracked my whole body and I felt myself slowly deteriorate as the realization hit me.

Allison Argent, the strongest person I'd ever had the pleasure to meet, was gone. And I hated myself for letting it happen. I hated the Oni for doing it to her. But most of all, I hated the nogitsune for showing its face in the first place. I wanted it dead. I wanted to kill it myself.

For Allison.

* * *

The four us sat tense on the bench in the police station. Our gazes were locked on nothing as we tried to comprehend the events of the night. I felt myself deny that this ever happened. That this was all another fucked up dream the nogitsune was playing in my head.

But it wasn't. I felt white-hot anger bubble in my stomach, but I knew that the sadness was about to kick in. Scott was shaking beside me and I wordlessly grabbed his hand in comfort. He took it gratefully, squeezing it like a lifeline.

"Can you remember anything? Anything else?" Parrish questioned us and we stayed silent. "Isaac?"

"I'm sorry," his voice wavered and the sheriff put a hand on his shoulder. "It just happened so fast."

Stilinski looked over at the deputy and nodded. "That's all. You guys can go home, but if you remember anything else that can help us with this investigation, go ahead and come in."

We stood as Parrish opened the door, Isaac leaving the room lightening fast. My phone vibrated in my pocket as we exited the station and I used my free hand to look at it, fearing that if I let god of Scott's hand, I'd drift away from the world.

_The nemeton was what kept the fly trapped. Think you can find anything that's equally as powerful? Maybe even something that was part of it once?_

My eyes traced over the pixelated words for a few moments before responding.

_Meet us at the vet's._

"We need to see Deaton," I croaked and Scott and Lydia looked at me questioningly. "We need help and he's the only one that can offer it. Stiles is gonna meet us there."

The two nodded and soon we were off to Deaton's. Scott hand didn't once leave mine and I silently thanked him for it.

* * *

"Stiles said that it was the nemeton that keept it trapped," I told Deaton as we entered the back room of his office.

Deaton stopped in the middle of the room and turned to us. "The problem is, this isn't even a person you're fighting. It just looks like one. It's a spirit that's taken the shape of a human."

"The shape of our best friend," Scott corrected him.

"Someone caught it once, so someone can do it again, right?" Lydia persisted, arms akimbo.

Deaton shook his head sadly. "I don't know. This thing was trapped a long time ago, even before the nemeton was cut down. It doesn't have the same power anymore."

"Does anything have that power?" I inquired.

"Possibly. When the tree was whole, its wood was sometimes used to contain powerful objects, but those objects are very rare."

"Wait a second," Lydia interrupted him. "Powerful objects? Like an Alpha's claws?"

"Which Alpha?" Deaton probed curiously.

"Talia Hale." Deaton's eyes went wide as she continued. "Peter had them in this wooden box with a triskele carved on the lid. What if it was made from the nemeton?"

"It was," the druid confirmed.

"How do you know?" Scott asked, his eyebrows quirked up.

"Because I made it," he confessed. "It'll work."

The room fell silent, but soon Scott announced that he was going to call Derek, moving into the other room. I stayed next to Lydia nervously, a rush of different emotions invading my system. Guilt. Anger. Sadness. Determination. It made me dizzy.

"Derek's got the triskele box. He's going to meet us at the school," Scott told us as he reentered the room. Suddenly, Lydia swayed precariously on her feet and Scott and I steadied her.

"What's wrong?" Deaton questioned in concern.

"Something's happening. I had this sudden rushing feeling; like…"

"Like we're running out of time?" I finished for her. I could feel it too.

"Yeah," we looked up to put face to voice and saw Kira helping Stiles into the room. He looked even worse than a few hours ago and I felt worry add itself into the mix of emotions I felt. "I kind of got that feeling, too."

Feeling the need to do so, I hurried over to him and crushed his waist in my arms, kissing the part of his neck that I could reach. He pressed his lips to my temple and I felt the emotions whirling inside me come to a slow stop. How he was even standing, much less comforting me, I didn't know.

I pulled away enough to look up at him and caught him grimacing in pain. "Stiles…" I started slowly.

"Shh, I'll be okay. We need to hurry, yeah?" he assured me and I nodded reluctantly, following him as we lead everyone out of the office.

* * *

**AN: _Sorry sorry short chapter, but I wanted the ending to be long, so yeah. I cried writing Allison's death. I CRIED A LOT OK SORRY. IT HURT TO WATCH IT AGAIN LIKE A LOT._**

**_kiraookami: To answer your question, I have a love-hate relationship with the finale. It was good, yeah, but I definitely did not like how they just brushed aside Allison's death without any closure. Plus, I kinda do not like how they're using Malia as a sort of 'replacement'. (JUST AN OPINION SO PLS DONT HATE ME OK SORRY I MEAN MALIAS GR8 BUT IDK I DONT TRUST HER) But yeah, all in all, a lot of Stydia = very happy me. And I really liked Deaton and Scott's conversation about 'returning to the mean' or something like that._**

**_OKAY HOLD UP HOLD UP. 100 follows? U FORREAL? God, I love you guys. All of you. So so much. I couldn't have asked for better fans. Ya'll are the best in the world. Keep it up!_**

**_Please follow/review/fave if you enjoyed! Means the world to meee.  
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**_xx._**


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